Heart of a Thief
by Demon-Lionka
Summary: When Bakura lost Ryou's soul, he knew it's impossible for him to get it back without help and he hated that thought a lot. Stealing something from the King of Thieves he found highly unforgivable, so now - trapped somewhere in between anger, fear and thirst for vengeance - he's starting his own crusade.
1. Chapter 1

_This text is my first story written in English. It wouldn't be like this without littlemichiru's great help so here I'd like to thank You very much again for all You did for me! You're really kind of skillful wizard and truly You are a godmother for this story :)_

 _Enjoy!_

 **1\. Admit you need help**

Bakura woke up with an unnerving feeling. It was as if something was missing. For some time he only looked at the ceiling, breathing slowly and trying to figure out what was that strange thing that interrupted his sleep. It was still dark outside. Bakura sat on the bed and kept thinking. Something was clearly wrong in there. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. A faint, blue moonbeam got through the window and lit a bit the room, but it was strong enough for Bakura to figure out he was alone.

Alone in more than one way.

"Ryou?" he asked aloud, waiting for his host to reply from the depths of their shared soul.

There was no answer so he repeated the calling a couple of times with growing irritation. Why didn't Ryou respond? He should have heard Bakura calling out his name by now.

"I thought you're more well-bred than me. It's a bit impolite not to answer me, isn't it?" he snapped and left the body to reach their soul maze.

He stood inside the ring and for some terrible seconds he was just staring, not able to even move. The maze was ruined. Completely smashed. Bakura felt a cold shiver on his spine. What the hell happened in there?

"Ryou! Ryou!" he screamed with a light trembling in his voice. "Holy shit! Answer me so I can find you, stupid brat!"

But he knew – he felt, that there was no one left in the maze to be found. This dead silence was driving him crazy. It was way too silent to deceive himself Ryou was somewhere safe and unharmed, hiding from him.

Bakura started walking through the destroyed corridors. What kind of power could have created all this mess? Whatever brought such horrible mental cataclysms in there had managed to make Bakura feel trapped somewhere in the middle of fear, anger and a rising thirst for vengeance. The white haired man made his way towards his own soul-room. The resilient, always locked door seemed even more solid in this post-apocalyptic landscape. Bakura checked around him twice before opening the door and taking a quick look at the room behind. All in order, he noticed. Why everything else is destroyed, but my soul-room has remained untouched?

Without any idea of how to explain this catastrophe, Bakura closed the door to his soul-room and ran to the one belonging to Ryou. The closer he got, the stronger the feeling that there was not even a microscopic chance for his host to be all right was growing. When he reached the place, for a few seconds, his heart stopped beating.

Bakura had been in Ryou's soul-room before. He didn't believe in anyone's privacy and wasn't the respectful type, especially if he was curious about something. It was more than possible that Ryou didn't know about Bakura's small trips to his soul-room. The King of Thieves was a highly talented burglar so he wouldn't leave behind any sign of his uninvited presence. He would get in and out without Ryou ever noticing him – it was smooth, professional work in order to gain knowledge about all of his host's secrets and use them later as a bait or blackmail in case Ryou would refuse to cooperate. The room was more than full of memories and thoughts to use against this loyal, stubborn boy, but now…

Now he was standing in front of the most horrible kind of housebreaking he had ever seen. The pretty wooden door he remembered from his previous visits was smashed into pieces with almost thrilling rage. Normally Ryou's soul-room looked like a paradise for magicians, neopagans, fortune-tellers and paranormal researchers. Now it seemed more like a battlefield after a nuclear bomb was used. Not a single thing remained in one piece, the walls were full of cracks, the ceiling had collapsed and there were many cracked holes on the floor – black, deep and leading to a distant, cold nowhere.

The worst thing, however, was the bloody marks splattered all over the soul-room. Of course no soul could bleed for real, it was impossible and Bakura knew it, but he had seen blood too many times (and many times he was the one who had spilled it) for him not to recognize it at first sight. He stepped back, not even noticing his hands shaking, before trying to lift a broken cat figurine he spotted near his shoe. In reality it was long gone, but Ryou had kept a memory of this small Egyptian figurine and had stored it safely in his soul-room. Bakura knew the other boy was very fond of it and it meant much to him, being directly linked to some good memories from his childhood. In Bakura's opinion it was silly to love such worthless objects that much, but he decided to pick up all the pieces of the cat and put them into his pocket.

Maybe, he thought, Ryou would smile when he would give him back his precious little cat. Maybe that was Bakura's way of not focusing on the terrifying idea that Ryou might be far beyond getting anything from anyone at all.

Bakura turned away from the destroyed soul maze and went back to his host's body. The maze wouldn't help him much more anyway. It was perfectly ruined by some kind of strong, evil power and it was better to look for answers in the real world. Something must have happened there, bringing such horror down on Ryou. Bakura got up and turned on the lights in order for him to search the whole room.

"What have you done this time?" he growled, checking Ryou's desk. "In the name of Ra, what have you done to yourself, you stupid, naive idiot? And how is it possible I didn't notice a thing?!" He kept throwing on the carpet everything he would find in the drawers. "You and this wicked love for paranormal of yours! Wasn't I enough paranormal activity for you? Why did you… Oh Ra!" He gasped.

At the furthest end of the upper drawer was lying a papyrus scroll. It looked so harmless and inconspicuous that Bakura was sure it was all its fault. Wolves sometimes wear sheep's coats, don't they? Unnerved by the bad premonition, Bakura grabbed the scroll and shivered as he clearly felt it. The scroll was full of untamed power waiting for idiots like Ryou to set it free. Bakura wasn't any good spirit himself but he would seem as innocent as Jesus in compare to this pure evilness unleashed. He unrolled the papyrus to find out what it was about but he wasn't able to read a single sign.

"Great. Plain hieroglyphic text without even one drawing which could give me a hint what happened in here. Congratulations, Ryou, you little fool. How am I supposed to rescue you now?"

There were so many questions about this situation. Where did Ryou get it from? Was he able to read the text? Wasn't he aware of the evil aura soaking the papyrus? Why did he use it? What was so important for this moron to bring such great danger down on himself? For sure Ryou didn't even try to fight back. He had escaped to the soul maze and that's why Bakura woke up in his body instead of his soul-room, but what made him think he would be safe there? That evil entity had proven that there were no mental barriers that could stop its fury and if Ryou read the papyrus he should know that!

"Enough!" Bakura decided.

He was tired trying to solve too many riddles at once. He glanced down at the Millennium Ring hanging on his neck but the item stayed still.

"Wonderful. No help from your side too?" he hissed angrily and started to dress, knowing he needed something more fitting for another unexpected visit in the middle of the night than those ridiculous, striped pajamas of Ryou's.

He rolled the papyrus scroll up and put it into one of his pockets. Turning the lights off, he opened the window and simply jumped out.

"No one has ever stolen anything from the King of Thieves" he whispered harshly and headed towards a well-known direction. He needed help.

…

Yami was awake before his sleepy mind realized that he was up and in Yugi's body. The body tensed and was ready to attack if there was any need for that. Yami knew there must have been something out there so he looked around carefully.

"Great Cerberus always on guard, huh?" He heard a voice saying and Yami blinked twice before fully seeing Bakura's dark shape sitting on the windowsill. "Impressing, but I'd rather talk to that smaller, kinder version of yours. Would you be that nice and switch for a while?"

"And what makes you think I would do that?" asked Yami sharply enough for Bakura to know he wouldn't let Yugi get close to him as long as he was alive – meaning for a quite long time period.

"I think I need that sweet babbling about friendship which always makes me sick, but is useful in cases like this one. You see, it's something very important and very immediate I need to talk to him about. Your cheerful, gentle Yugi for sure wouldn't be happy to hear you restrained him from rescuing one of his precious friends. I doubt he could ever forgive you." Bakura responded with a faint smile that was way too sinister to ignore accompanied by the dangerous tone in his voice.

Seeing hesitation in those crimson eyes was more than satisfying. Oh, here I got you!, he thought, but smiled to him a little bit more just to cause another exquisitely suspicious glance. Bakura of course knew Yami cared a lot about his host. Their bond was much stronger than the one he himself shared with Ryou, but anyway watching the former pharaoh so confused and yet so distrustful was a pure pleasure for him. There was something exciting about Yami facing death with no fear and watching him now – so lost only by the hint he would make Yugi angry or sad. It's almost cute, Bakura laughed inside his head.

"Do we need to wait until sunrise before you decide what to do?" he sneered in the meantime.

"Okay. But don't forget I'll be here too. Better don't try to do anything sneaky to him or you won't leave this room. At least, not in one functional piece." Yami snarled and Bakura was sure he didn't bluff. He would make a smart remark but testing Yami's patience any longer was more than pointless, so he only nodded and watched him switching with the other boy.

"Bakura?" Yugi stretched unable to cover a sleepy yawn. For sure there couldn't be any greater contrast between him and the half-transparent shadow of Yami, fully awaken with his watchful eyes set on the night intruder. "Why are you here? It's quite late."

"Quite early, I'd rather say." replied Bakura. "I mean no harm to you, despite what the other you thinks. I forgot to get the white flag with me, but I was in a hurry so try not to kill me with that murderous look of yours, Pharaoh. I almost feel pierced and cut in half, and it's not quite comfortable for me, you know."

"Why don't you tell us what you want and leave us alone?" asked Yami, but there were no more gentleness in his voice than in his sharp, crimson eyes.

"I've lost Ryou." declared Bakura and for some seconds that felt like an eternity the only reply was silence full of disbelief and surprise.

"But… How would you?... I mean…" Yugi tried to say something, but there were so many questions in his mind he couldn't choose which one he should ask first.

"I've lost him. His soul is not with me anymore." Bakura answered dryly trying to be more precise.

"But if so, where's Ryou right now?" asked Yami, still wary and cautious.

It seems he would faster believe in Bakura's new mysterious stratagem than in a story about Ryou's soul being eaten alive by some kind of ancient, powerful being. No doubt in the past Bakura had given him a couple of reasons to think so. Their mutual hatred had defeated death surviving thousands of years only to grow even stronger in modern times. Bakura knew well that there would never be anything better than great aversion between them, but he was too proud to lower his head and beg for help. Especially his help.

"Listen, that's what I don't know and can't figure out. Our soul maze has been badly damaged in a way I don't understand by something I can't remember or recognize. I can't even say what this wretched thing did to Ryou, but…"

Bakura realized his unruly voice had started trembling again, so he took a deep breath and tried hard to stay as cynical and arrogant as he always was. He didn't miss Ryou, no way he would. He was too egoistic to care for anyone except himself. He always appreciated his own comfort more than anything else. Or at least he wished to be like that.

"Look, I badly need him back. I can't pretend I'm Ryou all the time. This being-nice-and-polite thing is a damn pain in the ass. It's definitely his part and doesn't fit my personality."

"And you came here to admit you need our help." replied Yami, a small grin on his transparent lips.

"No." growled Bakura, totally too proud to admit he was not strong and independent enough to deal with his own problems all alone. "I came here because I knew you" he pointed to the younger tri-color haired boy, "like Ryou and you'll want to find him."

"Of course we will find him and bring him home!" said Yugi with valiant brightness in his amethyst eyes.

Charming, thought Bakura. No wonder why the Pharaoh respected and protected him that much. Bakura hadn't seen anyone so smart, brave and noble for circa the last three thousand years. Probably the Millennium Puzzle felt the same – after killing and driving crazy a great amount of people it had chosen Yugi as its new owner. The only successor of the young pharaoh.

"Tell us all you know!" demanded Yugi, more than ready to help Bakura find his friend.

Bakura simply nodded once again and showed them the papyrus scroll he had found in Ryou's drawer, explaining his first impression of the evil document. Yugi lifted his hand to grab the scroll and take a better look at the text, but when his hand came close to the scroll he pulled it back, avoiding to touch it. Yami also came closer, staring at the hieroglyphic inscriptions with his arms crossed in front of his chest. From his expression Bakura could tell that he definitely didn't enjoy the view – neither the King of Thieves nor the evil papyrus being so close to his other self.

"I cannot read it." Yami said at last.

"I know. You don't even remember your own name, so how could you read hieroglyphics?" replied Bakura acidly.

"I mean, those signs aren't regular hieroglyphics." clarified Yami with the same tone. He indeed couldn't remember his name but he could read hieroglyphics such fine. "Most of them I see for the first time. And… there is something wrong with them. I just don't feel right when I'm looking at them."

"I can't recognize them, either." Yugi confirmed. He knew some basic hieroglyphics thanks to the pharaoh and his grandfather.

"I believe Yugi's grandfather might be more skillful in this matter. It was him who reached your tomb and passed successfully all the traps. Maybe he will know what kind of black sorcery this thing is and if there's any way to get Ryou back."

"Of course there must be!" said Yugi without any hesitation. The thought of not being able to save his friend was not existent. "And we will find it! Bakura, would you mind leaving the scroll here so I can ask my grandpa about it? We can meet back at school so I will tell you what he said."

"Sure, you can keep it." replied Bakura, ready to jump off the window and head back home.

"Try to be the best Ryou we've ever seen." added Yami with a lazy, but rather diabolic smile. "And better study something about the Edo period. His class has a pretty difficult history exam today. Good luck! You'll need it!"


	2. Chapter 2

_As always - many, many thanks for littlemichiru! :) You're the best editor and supporter I would ever dream of :)_

 _I'd like also thank You for all comments, follows and faves! They cheer me up a lot! :)_

 **2\. Admit you didn't care**

Bakura could hardly remember a day worse than this one. For starters, he overslept after a series of painful attempts to store in his memory at least some basic information about this cursed Edo period but in the end he only succeeded in falling asleep with his head resting on the history handbook in quite an unnatural, uncomfortable position. With an aching neck and still clueless about what happened in 1854, where Kanagawa was, or who the hell Yoshinobu Tokugawa was, Bakura got up next morning and made a great effort to prepare himself for school.

At last he decided he was ready, so he left the house and went down the street. It was only after two minutes of walking that a couple of students came to join him towards the same direction. Seeing them made him understand that his black trousers and baggy striped T-shirt wouldn't pass for a school uniform.

"I want this cursed world to burn today" Bakura murmured and spent the rest of the way back home swearing. He saw some people giving him disgusted looks but he didn't care.

Maybe if he had the Millennium Rod and did some pretty brainwashing on the teachers here and there, he would be able to go to school without changing clothes. Unfortunately the Millennium Ring didn't have such powers so the only thing he could do was to return home and find Ryou's damned uniform. In the proper outfit this time he left the house once again, only to discover he was already late for the first class. Still cursing and wishing some brilliant catastrophe to destroy the whole Domino City right here right now, Bakura found himself close to school. He was only some meters away from the last intersection, so close he could clearly hear the bell announcing the second period, when two boys blocked his path.

"Where's our money?" asked first one with a self-confident sneer on his face.

Bakura was too busy thinking how much petrol he would need to burn the whole school building to the ground, so he didn't even listen to the boy but rather tried to pass by both of them like they were some bothersome obstruction in his way. Watching in disbelief his unforgivable insolence, the smaller of the two shouted an order making the bigger one grab the white-haired boy's arm in order to stop him from walking away..

"Oh, I assure you did not, REALLY did not want my attention on you." Bakura hissed angrily.

Attacking him like this – it was more than enough reason for the Millennium Ring's spirit to want them both hanging somewhere nearby with ripped bellies and eyes eaten by the crows. Bakura took a closer look at his new opponents, but very soon he figured out they were no match for him.

The first one was short, acned, and equipped with a pair of huge unfashionable glasses suggesting he was probably able to read and maybe even correctly write down something more than his own name. The second one was a dumb ironman with an overgrown ego, way too stupid to be an intellectual challenge even for a cockroach. As a human with a separated brain and set of muscles they had to join forces in order to create some kind of one being able to survive in the school society. It seemed they had chosen to be a co-operating bully team, but attacking him, the great King of Thieves, was the worst idea of their lives. And it would be the very last idea they had – Bakura was strongly motivated to make sure of it.

"Don't try to mess up with us, you freak!" said the boy with glasses. "Better give us all the money you got. Now."

"Yeah. Now." repeated the second one like a truly primitive caveman. The way he spoke made Bakura think it was quite possible he might not know any words longer than three or four letters. "I beat. You hurt."

"See? My friend is getting impatient. I suggest that you don't make him angry!" the so-called brain of this operation laughed in the same style as the old-fashioned villains from those shows they played on that plastic box called TV. "You've always been so polite and compliant, freak. I believe you don't want to meet his fist again, right? Don't you remember how it feels to have your nose bleeding and an almost broken arm or do you need us to remind it to you?"

Suddenly something burned in Bakura's veins. Hot, dazzling flames spread all across his body. It was as if he got liquid fire instead of blood running inside his veins. Ryou was bullied! And not for the first time! How could he not notice such a thing? Those wretched human scums… His fury was as huge as a firestorm that could turn the whole world into ashes. They would pay for all they did to Ryou. Oh, they would definitely pay…

"You have two hundred and six bones in your body. You may not believe me, but I can twist and break each one of them, and I feel an overpowering necessity to show you how it is done." Bakura said with Ryou's sweet, angelic smile completely incongruous accompanied by the murderous sparks filling his deep, dark eyes. "Shall we play a game, dear boys?"

…

Bakura weaved a masterful vision this time. He used all his imagination to build up a wonderful scenery for his retribution. Without any mercy he trapped both boys' minds in the illusion of a midday's sun at the center of a wide, sandy desert. They believed they were badly injured, suffering from many wounds, an incredible heat, and a light too bright for human eyes to bear. Bakura was almost satisfied with his job, but in the end he decided to add some pretty vultures on the amazingly blue sky and some jackals tiptoeing through the yellow hills.

The King of Thieves left the boys moaning weakly on the pavement. Without remorse he let them think that soon they would be nothing more than prey for the carrion-eaters; let them believe only their pale bones would remain, lost and forgotten forever in the hot desert sands. Bakura smiled watching the result of his efforts. Old Yami – the vengeful, evil spirit he used to be before he got tamed and civilized by his cute little Yugi, would definitely be impressed. The old Yami knew and appreciated the art of a penalty game. Bakura, absentmindedly, thought that if Yami had stayed that way they might have even been friends… eventually.

Friends or not, with Yami still wrathful and vindictive like he previously was, some things would be easier to deal with for sure. For example talking to Yugi and his closest friends waiting for Bakura in front of the school gate. Then again, even when Yami was insane, he had never tried to hurt Yugi. Still, it would have been helpful not being the only one considered evil. Not that he cared what those humans thought.

"Where have you been?" asked Anzu instead of "hello" or anything similar to "hi".

"Is there any way to sneeze without all of you knowing about it two seconds later?" replied Bakura dryly. He really didn't like the way she talked to him. He was the King of Thieves, not a trained dog.

It was more than obvious that Yugi had told Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda what happened last night, and it was only the faint shadow of Yami behind Yugi's back that restrained Bakura from further commentary in this matter. The white haired boy sighed heavily.

"I got into trouble on my way here." he admitted.

"Is everybody alive?" asked Jonouchi with that goofy face of his that made Bakura think he would mindlessly believe that the King of Thieves had already killed five people, plundered three houses, and robbed at least one bank before breakfast.

"Yes, I think so. I left them convinced that they are fatally injured and are going to be mauled by jackals and vultures soon, but I doubt they'll die for real."

"You did… what?..." choked Anzu with eyes wide open in terror. Really, did she even know who was standing in front of her?

"Come on, Honda! We better check it out!" shouted Jonouchi and, with Honda by his side, he ran towards the direction of Bakura's home to find out where and against whom he used his spells.

"You can't do such things!" said girl. "You can't just…"

"Ryou was bullied by them." Bakura interrupted Anzu with enough sharpness in his voice to quell any protests from being declared aloud. "I simply made sure they won't dare to touch Ryou again or even look at him anymore."

A gasp of horror escaped Yugi. "He didn't say a word. If we only knew…" The tri-color haired boy bore such evident sense of guilt in his voice while his eyes instantly filled with infinite sadness. "He could have come to me…"

Bakura couldn't handle the boy's sadness. "Oh, stop now, kid. How could you notice it when even I didn't realize a thing until this morning? And to be honest, it is me who wears Ryou's body like a coat and lives inside his mind. He can't expect us to help him if he doesn't tell us that there's something wrong. It's his fault, so I won't blame myself and so all of you shouldn't either."

"Was that supposed to cheer someone up?" asked Yugi with a rather unhappy expression on his face. "I don't feel any better knowing my friend had such problems and hid them from me for some reason I can't even imagine." The boy took a deep breath, his hands trembling. "I had been there before… I could help."

The bell rang before Bakura could said something rude and for sure gain a direct attack from Yami who was ready to switch with his partner in order to teach his enemy how he should treat his friends. Judging by the proportion of anger and wrath in the crimson eyes, Bakura could tell that this lesson would be full of pain and suffering with a one-way ticket to the Shadow Realm included.

"Sorry, guys. I have to go now. There's an extremely difficult history exam waiting for me to fail." he said and carelessly waved them off heading into the building.

Going against Yami would be fun at any other point, but he already had enough in his mind as it was. After all, seeing how Ryou was bullied, who could blame the Pharaoh for wanting to protect his host?

…

It was odd. He had already skipped two classes, but when he came in, nobody reacted or asked him why he was late. No one smiled at him, no one greeted him. Most of Ryou's classmates pretended he was invisible and ignored him all the way. Some girls very carefully avoided looking at him when he passed their group to take a seat in the furthest corner of the room. Even if he wasn't sure at first it was Ryou's seat, the view of many offensive messages written all over his desk and chair soon confirmed that he had found the right place.

"Freak"? "Weirdo"? "Get lost, you crank"? "Die!"? Bakura read only some of them. What the hell has Ryou done to his classmates? Why are they so hostile towards him? Bakura was even more clueless about this than he was back at the street when he got bullied. From the very beginning he had thought of Ryou as a shy, polite, well-mannered, and, for sure, harmless boy. Of course he was interested in ghosts and the afterlife, but Bakura was an ancient spirit of a dead thief himself, so he didn't see anything strange in talking about being possessed or haunted houses with him. Was Ryou's sensitive side and his occult views that had his classmates thinking of him that way?

"Hey, you jerk. Will your ghosts write again the exam for you to pass with the best score?" asked one boy with obvious envy about Ryou's excellent marks. He had taken Bakura's silent thinking as another great opportunity to humiliate Ryou in front of everybody.

Bakura raised his head and nearly pierced the boy with his look. Very soon his amateurish adversary lost most of his confidence under such a sharp glance, but still tried to offend him. That was a highly miserable and piteous attempt in Bakura's opinion, so instead of feeling even the merest hint of offence, he got more and more irritated.

"What? Why don't you call the ghosts out? You're so stupid you'll fail without their help!" the boy mocked in a way only he found funny at all.

For one second two girls looked like they were about to say something in Ryou's defense but in the end they decided to keep quiet. Bakura realized that the classroom was full of cowards like them; with their silent agreement Ryou was insulted and treated worse than a lame stray-dog in a rainy night. Day by day, week by week year by year, Ryou had to put up with such behavior. This thought made Bakura's blood boil in his veins.

"Did you lose your voice?" the boy continued. "How are you supposed to summon any demons in here without a proper incantation?"

Bakura's movement was too quick for the boy to see and too sudden to be predicted. Terrified, the boy shrieked out when the King of Thieves caught his arm, knocked him down on the floor, and put a freshly sharpened pencil to his neck, exactly on point to perforate his trachea without any great effort.

"I think I won't disturb any demons or ghosts this time. You know, I'm pretty sure I can do a tracheotomy on you all by myself. Shall we check it out?"

…

"Ryou, dear child, what has gotten into you today?"

The school counselor's room was small, bright, cozy, and so featureless that it made Bakura sick. For some seconds he considered if by actually killing that hopeless idiot and being taken into police custody for adolescents he would find a more interesting place to spend the rest of this cursed day.

"I am possessed by an evil spirit who wants to see this building in rubbles and the heads of all my classmates impaled on three-meter stakes and exposed to the crows in the full sun." he answered the truth.

"Oh my! What a horrible idea!" exclaimed the counselor with a worried look in her eyes.

"In my personal opinion it would be nice to add some tigers. I like tigers a lot and they would perfectly deal with the bodies after decapitations." he completed his vision politely.

"You can't think this way." Replied the woman softly, concern sipping through her voice. "I know you're a good boy. You have always been a good boy, despite everything that has happened to you, you found the strength to remain kind and nice."

"What had happened to me?" repeated Bakura slowly. He pretended to be sad and defiant at the same time in order to get the information he needed.

The woman sighed, but didn't get discouraged. "You were transferred here just a few months ago, but I got all your data from your previous schools." responded the counselor looking into plenty of papers and prints stored in a big folder. "Your mother and little sister died years ago in a car accident. This was really hard for you of course but it only got worse when your father abandoned you. He lost his senses after the accident and believed you caused their death. You're living alone, your grandfather and grandmother send you money but refuse to contact you personally. You don't have any other family. Your guardian claims you're doing fine and you can take care of yourself. You were transferred a lot, because in each school you were bullied, insulted, or even worse. I was so happy to see that here, for the first time, you found friends." She smiled and closed the folder. "I dared to hope you would be able to stay in our school, but now I see that trouble followed you here as well. We need to talk. You need to let me help you."

Bakura was speechless. He was just staring into the space but he was seeing nothing.

How could he be such a dumbass? Ryou was a small child when his father gave him the Millennium Ring. Bakura knew his host for years, but now he wasn't sure he knew a single thing about him. Was he really so egoistic and so focused on his plans that he didn't even realize Ryou was suffering? Hadn't he seen a living being in him, thinking he was only a useful tool for his intrigues and machinations? Poor, persecuted Ryou was nothing more than a simple property for him. Bakura himself didn't treat him any better than the school bullies. He claimed himself Ryou's owner, but didn't care for him at all.

He was the great King of Thieves, so he never thought of himself highly in the ethical scale. He was no more noble or lawful than a stake at the crossroads, but now he was disgusted by his own deeds. It was as if he had a big, deep hole in the center of his chest. He felt incredibly cold and wanted badly to vomit. The sensation was entirely new and unpleasant.

"Ryou, dear? Are you okay? Should I call for the nurse?" asked the counselor, worried.

"No." replied Bakura faintly, but then he decided that it would be more comfortable for him to change his mind. After all, that would give him a good excuse to skip his lessons, too. He didn't feel like he could deal with people or studies at the moment. "Yes. Yes, please." He said in a whisper, surprising even himself. The great King of Thieves had never before begged anyone for anything.

…

Jonouchi was the best runner in the school so he reached the nurse's room first. He dashed inside, seeing the door half opened, but he didn't notice it was half open in order to alert the nurse of unwanted visitors. Jou felt a hand grabbing his jacket, not letting him go any further.

"He needs to rest!" the nurse said. "You're the last thing in the world he needs right now if he wants to recover!"

"But please, please! I was frightened when I heard he's in there!" cried Jonouchi, desperately fighting for his freedom. "I was running so fast I almost fell from the stairs!" He was definitely more curious to find out what had made Bakura visit the nurse, than caring for him at all. He tried hard to act all concern and innocent, but it wasn't really working.

"Yes! Please, could we see him for a minute?" It was Yugi who ran into the room with Honda and Anzu following him. "He's our friend! We're worried about him! Just one minute and we'll be gone! I promise!"

Yugi was charming and yet completely unaware of how defenseless people were when he looked at them with his huge, innocent eyes begging for something. The nurse just sighed and let Jonouchi go.

"Okay, but one minute only! I'm checking the clock!"

"Great! Thank you!" exclaimed Yugi, and led the rest of his friends to the bed behind the soft, white curtains. "Hello, Bakura. How are you feeling?"

Bakura was lying on the bed with,his face covered by his long, white hair, his back facing the door. He didn't move when he heard them talking to the nurse, not even when Anzu gently touched his arm.

"What's up this time? We've heard you nearly stabbed your classmate. I don't want to criticize you, but sending half the students to the graveyard and the other half to the Shadow Realm won't help Ryou in here when he'll be back." said Jonouchi, worried by Bakura's strange behavior. After all the thief occupied his friend's body. "Hey, we're skipping our math class for you! Show some gratitude!"

Bakura lifted himself slowly and raised his head. Jonouchi couldn't help but gasp and try to hide behind Honda's back seeing the white haired boy's state. The Millennium Ring's spirit looked horrible. He was pale like a ghost with his white hair a complete mess and his eyes hollow. His slow movements would no doubt have everybody thinking he was badly sick.

"Wow, now! You scared me to death!" gasped Jonouchi, still trying to have Honda between himself and Bakura. "You're looking like something out of a bad nightmare or a monster in a horror movie!"

"What happened?" asked Yugi while he sat on the bed, as close to Bakura as possible. Yugi wanted to scold Jou for his words but he was mainly concerned about Bakura at the moment.

"Be careful, Yug'!" advised Jonouchi. "He's a sneaky creature! Maybe he's up to something new!"

"No." said Yugi with certainty and touched Bakura's hand without fear. "Nobody could imitate such deep sorrow and regret without feeling it. Please," he turned his full attention to Bakura, "let us help you. We need to know what happened."

"I want Ryou back." replied Bakura and his voice sounded weak, like a long-forgotten echo in an empty well. "I just want him back. I want him back so badly I could burn down the whole world if only it would help." It hurt admitting it, but it hurt even more keeping it inside.

"I know." Yugi squeezed his hand a bit stronger with a little, encouraging smile. He was the only other person in the room knowing what it meant to share a body and mind. "I have spoken to my grandpa before I left for school. He said he hasn't seen such strange hieroglyphic signs before, but he will try to find out something about them during the day. He asked if I could bring you back home after the last class to see if you might help him with figuring it out. Would you come with me, please?" His voice was soft, encouraging, and warm.

Bakura nodded slowly and Yugi seemed happy that the evil spirit at last was looking at him and not through him like in the past moments. He really wanted to help him, not only because Ryou was so close to him, but also because he could see the spirit meant every word he had said.

"We got two more classes today." Yugi said cheerfully, knowing he needed to cheer up the other boy. "Try to lay down and get some sleep. We will be back for you, so don't worry anymore. We will find a way to get Ryou back. I'm sure we will!"

When Yugi and the others left the sickroom, the nurse tried hard to look severe. Yugi smiled at her gently as soon as he noticed she had let them visit Bakura for fifteen whole minutes instead of one. The nurse stopped at her heels and gave back a smile, unable to resist the innocent boy. Such creatures were the reason why she had become a school nurse.


	3. Chapter 3

_As always - with many, many thanks to littlemichiru, because this fanfiction wouldn't exist without her help and care :)_

 _Thank You all for reviews and favourites as well! I'm happy to know You enjoy this work :)_

 **3\. Admit you can't trust anyone**

Yugi's house looked like a real battlefield. No doubt everyone thought that a huge bomb had exploded inside the house – it was the best explanation for the great mess that surrounded Sugoroku Mutou from all sides. Books, papers, prints, and maps covered every available surface and probably it was only gravity that restrained Yugi's grandfather from putting his belongings on the ceiling as well.

"Grandpa?" choked Yugi, terrified by the view of their living room being turned into an Egyptologist's study after some kind of natural disaster. "What have you done in here?"

"Oh, good afternoon!" Sugoroku greeted them without even looking at them, too focused on the book he read. "Come in, dear children! Don't pay attention to the mess, please!"

"But…" Yugi started weakly and then realized that it was meaningless to protest at all.

He carefully led Anzu, Jonouchi, Honda, and Bakura through the mountains of archaeological books and articles. It was hard to find enough space to sit, so he needed to clean up a bit before he realized that his grandfather moved the whole sofa somewhere else anyway. After some painful attempts to make tea for everybody, Yugi gave up. This chaos was far beyond his understanding and even further beyond his cleaning abilities at the moment.

"Grandpa? Did you figure out anything?" he dared to ask when he sat somewhere in between some piles of books higher than he himself was, still a bit afraid that one incautious movement would be enough to cause a paper avalanche and all volumes would fall on his head. He didn't want to be buried alive under the tones of Egyptian works, so he sipped his tea as carefully as he could.

"It's a real masterpiece, my boy!" exclaimed Sugoroku Mutou with unusual excitement, completely unaware that his intense gesticulations could get Honda and Anzu crushed down by another pile of hardcover books. "If you thought the Millennium Puzzle was a great riddle, this papyrus is even more complicated!"

"So did you manage to read it?" asked Bakura roughly. His tone earned him a reproachful look from Anzu, but he decided to ignore it. "Can you tell what this text is about?"

"What? Oh, no! No, Ryou, my child. It's impossible." Sugoroku simply laughed with his eyes sparkling brightly.

It was like he got twenty years younger during the course of the day. Yugi had never seen him so happy and full of energy as he was that moment. The boy didn't even know his grandfather had kept all these Egyptological books with such care, but seeing him so cheerful and enchanted by a new interest gave Yugi a warm feeling deep inside his heart. The young boy smiled – no doubt this strange papyrus reminded Sugoroku of how much he loved ancient Egypt and how useful his knowledge still was .

Bakura wasn't even half so delighted. He didn't enjoy the cheerful look on the old man's face. Needless to say, the man thought he was Ryou, but that didn't mean anything to Bakura.

"What is so extraordinary about this wretched piece of papyrus?" he growled slowly, totally ignoring Anzu's sharp dig on his ribs, but making a mental note to punish her impertinence later. She should have known that poking the great King of Thieves like that was the shortest way to leave this world before the next sunrise. "I'm certain there is more than hieroglyphic babbling in there, so there must be a way to read it."

"Yes, I am sure there is. But, I've heard about texts like this before, even if barely anyone knows anything about them." replied Sugoroku happily, paying no attention to Bakura's sharp tone or unfamiliar behavior.

If he had paid attention, he would have clearly seen that Bakura was getting more and more impatient and irritated. The Millennium Ring's spirit wasn't even trying to pretend that he was as gentle and polite as Ryou usually was, but that didn't matter to him. Yugi's grandfather was too busy going through some huge volumes of Egyptian dictionaries and with his current mood probably he wouldn't even realize if an UFO landed in the neighborhood. As it was, he didn't notice any differences at all at the behavior of the white haired boy.

"It's very rare to find something like this." Sugoroku continued with growing excitement as if he was discovering the deepest secrets of the universe. "You see, normally it's the living beings' hieroglyphics that show you where the lines begin. They have their heads turned into the direction of the beginning. The only exception is the magical funeral compositions. Those were believed to belong to the Shadow Realm, the upside down world of the dead, so they're written in the opposite direction."

"And…?" pressed Bakura. He was already tired of all those useless lectures and wanted to hear something worth wasting his time in there. He was the ancient spirit of an Egyptian. Sure, he wasn't really educated back then, but he knew his way around magic.

"And in this specific case, it's not a funeral text at all. It's neither the Book of the Dead nor any of the royal Books of the Afterlife. It's rather a message, but based on the backward writing, I believe this letter was sent from the realm of the dead."

"But if so, why can't we make any sense of it?" asked Yugi, taking another look at the mysterious papyrus lying on top of his grandfather's old maps.

"Because the papyrus itself doesn't allow any of us to read it. Although it sounds unbelievable, I believe it contains some kind of power in it. In the Egyptian mythology, word and icon were mighty tools. Spells and magical drawings were in common use and they could interfere, change, and influence reality. If we think about it, isn't the concept of our cards having hearts and their own will similar to that? Don't the Millennium Items possess their own intelligence by being able to choose their owners knowingly? I suppose this letter is the same case. It only appears to be senseless mumbling just because it doesn't want us to know what the message is since we're not its addressee."

It was extremely hard for Bakura to hold back his fury. At that moment he wanted badly the papyrus to get its own throat so he could slash it, but there were no bones to break, no blood to spill, no life to take, and no way to torture this wretched thing until it would spill all its secrets. Bakura was used to dealing with all his problems alone but all his previous problems had at least a heart to stab or a head to cut off. This cursed scroll was a highly unfair opponent for him, with no neck to twist and no spine to break in half.

Everything inside Bakura burned with the overwhelming desire to seek revenge. He wanted the papyrus to suffer for all it did to him. It had stolen Ryou from him, it dared to take the King of Thieves' property and now there was nothing he could do about it. For the first time in his life Bakura was truly helpless and he hated this feeling with the fire of a thousand suns.

"I kept thinking about it all morning, but I'm afraid there's only one person who could help with this text." said Sugoroku in the meantime, completely unaware of the storm raging inside Bakura's soul. "If there's anybody in the entire world able to read it, it will be the elder of the Ishtar clan. I called Ishizu about an hour ago. She told me that their noble ancestor lives deep in a deserted village and the only way to contact him is by going to Egypt and meeting him in person. She would help us with the visas and so on, but I'm afraid we don't have enough money to go. I'm so sorry, Yugi." he added with sadness filling his voice. He would have loved one last adventure, but the earnings of the shop couldn't cover such an expensive trip.

"Leave it to me." replied Bakura, but there was darkness in his eyes so deep and inscrutable that Yugi felt a cold chill down his spine. "At least this is something I can deal with. If this whole trip to Egypt is necessary, I will go and find a way to bring all of you along with me."

"Great!" Sugoroku jumped from his seat and was already half-way to his room, shouting with cheerfulness, when Yugi noticed he was gone. "Egypt! Oh, my! Oh, my! I didn't believe I would see Egypt once again before my death! I'm so happy! I have to start preparing!" His mind was so full of excitement that he didn't even question how who he thought as Ryou would find the money to cover the trip.

When Yugi's grandfather was beyond hearing them, Anzu looked at Bakura with brand new determination to let him know how inappropriately his behavior was.

"You should stop messing around. It won't do Ryou any good if you drag him into conflict with every single human on Earth." she scolded. She couldn't understand why the spirit was so rude. They were there to help him, even if it was for Ryou's sake.

"If you like that pretty face of yours, it would be best for you to shut up and not interfere with what I do or say." he snarled, his patience obviously at its limits. Why couldn't she leave him alone?

"Don't you dare threaten her!" exclaimed Jonouchi and grabbed Bakura's arm as if he wanted to keep him still, but it was a great mistake.

"Please…" started Yugi conciliatory, but he knew it was already too late.

Bakura got his knife out of nowhere, and it took him an indefinitely short time to free himself from the seemingly strong grip, kick Jonouchi and send him across the room causing a series of books and papers to scatter around, and attack Anzu. No matter how badly Yugi wanted all of them to stay calm, the situation was far from under his control. His thoughts were on reaching to grab Anzu or pull Bakura away, even though he knew his involvement would probably only bring him in harm's way. However, he didn't get a chance to do or say anything, because Yami was faster. He switched their souls and threw himself onto Bakura in a desperate effort to disarm him before the evil spirit would harm someone.

Soon it turned into a rough fight. Anzu was screaming, while Honda, Jonouchi, Yami, and Bakura were wrestling wildly with the deadly knife somewhere among their bodies. Yugi, seeing everything in a spirit form, was terrified, yet he could do nothing. He knew that Yami was more capable than him to handle the situation. The overpowering feeling of helplessness was breaking his heart, yet he tried to be brave not wanting to distract his darkness.

"First blood spilled!" laughed Bakura in a truly demonical manner. He was showing his devilish nature in the full light, pure amusement in his dark eyes when he saw Yami bleeding badly from his cut hand. "Next should be your throat, my cursed pharaoh!" The white haired boy had lost it, not able to cope with the storm of feelings inside him, that he didn't care he had actually injured Yugi's body rather than the pharaoh himself.

It was hard to deprive him of his main weapon, but after a couple of attempts Honda succeeded. Bakura was lying on the floor with Jonouchi on his back and Yami pressing his head on the carpet, papers and books scattered everywhere. All of them were breathing hard.

"You better leave. Now." said Yami coldly. "Before I change my mind and decide to suffocate you as I was planning at first."

"How generous!" scorned Bakura with an evil smile. "Admit it! All you want right now is to see me bleeding, suffering, and dying! No matter how long you are beside your sweet other self, you will always stay an insane, vengeful spirit at heart! You and I are the same, so that why do you hate me so much?! I'm your mirror and you can't handle your own reflection!" hissed the King of Thieves.

"Go!" shouted Yami, avoiding to look at a defeated Bakura who slowly got up from the floor and headed to the entrance visibly limping.

He absentmindedly felt Anzu trying to treat his wounded hand, but said nothing. He simply gave the body back to Yugi, hiding in the depths of the puzzle. His mind was clouded by what Bakura had said, or else he would have thought twice before allowing the boy to feel the sting of the cut.

"How are we supposed to cooperate with him?" asked the girl with great sorrow as she saw how depressed her best friend was. "He scared me to death, Yugi. He might be hiding behind Ryou's face, but he's a murderer and there are no limits for him."

"I know, Anzu…" Yugi sighted, however he wasn't sure if he meant it or if he was just trying to comfort his friend. They were sitting in the bathroom with the girl covering his aching hand with a piece of bandage, while Honda and Jonouchi were trying to clean up the sitting room which was an even greater mess now, after their furious fight. "He's capricious and unpredictable, but I can't help feeling sorry for him." Yugi added after a while.

"You're too kind." Anzu replied softly, but her eyes were full of concern. "Your huge, innocent heart will cause you many problems if you don't stop thinking like this. We can't just trust Bakura, yet we must find a way to bring Ryou back. I'm not sure if there's any option to get along with him. Not without losses, I'm afraid." Yugi could tell the girl was terrified.

"Thank you." said Yugi, pointing at his bandaged hand, deciding to keep his thoughts for himself. The girl was too terrified for him to explain to her it wasn't just Bakura's fault. "You did a professional work here."

"No problem. I'm not just good in dancing. I got other talents as well." she added with a little smile, trying to joke

"Your grandpa was asking about Ryou." said Honda, when they came back to the living room. "We told him he needed to go, but I doubt he was listening to us. He was already in his khaki clothes and I believe he will be the first one ready to go."

"It's a good thing he was so distracted too because we caused quite a wreckage here. It certainly helps his hearing isn't the best." Jou added with a sheepish smile. "How is the hand?" concern sipped in his voice.

"It's fine. No worries." Yugi shrugged, even though the cut was quite deep. "I will pass it as a papercut."

"We better go home. We have school tomorrow and we need to make some preparations too, if we want to accompany Yugi and his grandfather. Come on, we can't leave them with that crazy dead thief alone!" said Anzu and Yugi felt gratitude towards her for giving him a chance to stay home and talk with Yami alone.

…

Yugi was exhausted. Cleaning took him several hours, especially with his hand hurting so much, but he made it, even when his grandpa wasn't any help since he was too busy running around the whole house and packing up. With a sigh of relief that at least the living room was looking once again as it did this morning when he left for school, he drank his cold tea, and headed to his room. Immediately, he threw himself onto bed and laid his head, heavy with worries, on the pile of pillows.

"Yami? Will you talk to me?" he murmured trying to surpass a yawn. He was tired as hell, but he sat up with a cheerful smile when he saw his other self appearing beside him.

"I'm sorry he hurt you." said Yami, looking at Yugi's hand with concern and guilt.

"No need to feel guilty. I'm thankful you rescued Anzu." Yugi replied gently, not liking how tormented his darkness looked.

The silence between them wasn't uncomfortable anymore with Yugi being happy to have Yami somewhere nearby, even if nobody else could see him. They knew each other better than anyone else, so maybe that was why Yugi understood well what had stuck into the pharaoh's mind. As he knew exactly what words should be spoken aloud.

"It wasn't true." Yugi said with a soft smile. He didn't need to precise his thought, because Yami already knew what he was talking about.

"How can you know I won't turn into that evil being I once was?"

"Because I know you." replied Yugi simply. "Yami, no one really understands it but I know. You were never a vengeful spirit. The millennia of being trapped in the puzzle with the shadows twisting your mind drove you mad, but as soon as you could shake their influence off you turned back to the person you really are." The words were spoken in a soft, comforting voice, but were nothing but the truth. The look that Yami gave him was one that made Yugi feel strange inside so he hurried to focus on the problem on hand. "It is Bakura himself who worries me the most. It seems he's trapped between wrath and despair, and, after what happened to him back at school, I think he desperately wants to keep himself as angry as he can. He probably found feeling regret unpleasant, so he's trying hard to fill his heart with rage in order to make it unable to feel such deep sadness again. He attacks, menaces, and says all these horrible things just because he doesn't want to shed a single tear over Ryou. He doesn't allow himself to think he could have lost him forever and that's why he's acting like a madman."

"That makes him even more dangerous than he usually is." said Yami, and then he smiled with such warmth gleaming in his crimson eyes that almost made Yugi blush. He knew that the pharaoh was giving such a look only to him and it made him feel special and embarrassed at the same time. "I'm impressed how well you deciphered Bakura. Your great empathy will never stop to amaze me."

"Oh…I mean…" muttered Yugi thinking he sounded silly, so he just lowered his head. He couldn't help his trembling voice, and it was even harder when he heard the pharaoh's soft chuckle much closer now. "I… I mean… It was just what I thought and…" Yugi couldn't help but stutter.

He had spent enough time alone with observing others being the only thing he could do. However, he pushed such a comment as far away from his mind as possible, still feeling the lingering eyes of the pharaoh on him.

"I know, but I trust your thoughts and observations, my wise, smart partner." responded Yami, sitting now arm to arm beside Yugi. "I really, really like you the way you are. And I'm happy it was you who solved the Millennium Puzzle. I doubt I would like anyone else that much."

"Thank… Thank you…" whispered Yugi. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he found them too intimate and too early for them to be said aloud. He kept quiet, and soon realized Yami had returned to the puzzle. "Oh, my… When will I stop making an idiot out of me in front of him?" he asked with his face pressed on the pillow. He knew Yami was too far gone to hear him. "And when will I stop talking to myself? It's odd enough to chat with Yami who nobody else sees…"

 **…**

 _"_ _Sing me your song and let me hear_

 _When darkness comes and death is near._

 _Sing me your song and let me know_

 _If there's any place for me in your soul._

 _Sing me your song and…"_

Yugi shifted his head. It was late, but he was sure he heard a faint song coming from somewhere close. It was the singing that woke him up.

 _"_ _Sing me your song…"_

Now he was sure there was someone singing nearby. He got up and opened the window to check what was going on.

 _"_ _Sing me…"_

Yugi looked up as if the words were coming from the heavens. It was then that he noticed a shadow. It was Bakura, sitting on the roof and, without success, trying to keep his song up, although he probably couldn't remember the next lines. He was drenched to the skin, with all his clothes soaked and his wet white hair nearly covering his face.

"It must have rained sometime during the night," thought Yugi. He grabbed a blanket, threw a jacket above his pajamas, and stepped outside to join Bakura. The roof's tiles were shining in the moonlight, but Yugi too late realized that the whole roof was way too wet and slippery for an amateur like him to climb on his own. He slipped and lost his balance. He was about to fall when he felt a strong hold on his arm. He sighted with relief as he, with Bakura's help, safely made his way on the top.

"Where's that reliable Cerberus of yours? How could he let you fall? And why did you even try to get up here? I doubt you're a climbing master who can conquer roofs after such a heavy rain." said Bakura in his usual arrogant tone, but Yugi was a hard one to fool.

"It was your song. It woke me up, and, since from all places in the whole city you chose to sing it on my roof, I thought you may want to talk to me." replied Yugi and without hesitation he covered Bakura's arms with the blanket he brought. The white haired gave him a look but didn't shake the blanket off. "Well, since you and Yami don't like each other very much, I didn't call him out." He shivered thinking what Yami would say when he would find out how he put himself in harm's way to reach Bakura. Not to mention the fact he went to meet the other boy without alerting him. "What was that song of yours?" Yugi asked, trying to change direction to his thoughts.

"This pathetic tune? Ryou kept singing it all the time, but now I realized I hadn't even listened to it well enough to remember more than these four lines. He kept saying I should like it, but I refused to pay any attention, and now…" the thief stopped, realizing he didn't know how to continue his statement. "But it doesn't matter anyway. I just came to give you these."

He took out a folder wrapped in a plastic bag to protect it from getting wet and passed it to Yugi. The tri-color haired boy opened it and when he peeked inside the folder, he couldn't help the surprised cry that escaped his lips. How could he when the folder contained a pack of freshly printed tickets to Luxor via Cairo for both of them, Yugi's grandfather, Anzu, Jonouchi, and Honda. According to the boarding time, they should be at the airport at 9 pm.

"But… How did you get them?..." choked Yugi in disbelief after discovering a pack of visas already imprinted in their passports, for sure stolen from their rooms at least a few hours ago. He wasn't sure how he felt about Bakura coming and going to his room without him noticing. He had heard the boy saying he would arrange everything about the trip, but he hadn't really thought it possible. On the other hand, Yugi knew Bakura was a professional thief and gambler.

"Better don't ask any questions. You wouldn't like the answers. Believe me." replied Bakura and his dark glance restrained Yugi from insisting.

For sure the boy wouldn't sleep the rest of the night knowing that Bakura had blackmailed the infamous Seto Kaiba and held Mokuba's soul for ransom, keeping it in the Shadow Realm. It wasn't his greatest work and Bakura wasn't proud of himself, but all in all it was the easiest way to force Kaiba to give him everything he wanted – tickets, visas, seats in business class, the best hotel for them to stay, and money to spare. To be sure Kaiba wouldn't try anything unpleasant, he still kept Mokuba with the promise to set him free after his quick trip to Egypt. Yugi wouldn't agree with such methods, and, in order to have the boy willingly help him, Bakura decided not to tell him a thing about this matter. Instead he sent him back to bed, helping him on his way down.

"I'm skipping school tomorrow. I don't think it would be a good idea to create a bigger mess in there, so I will catch you and the others up at the airport." Bakura said, jumping on the pavement.

"Okay." agreed Yugi, not shaken by the white haired boy's ways. He knew if he commented either on how those things came to his possession or the sudden gentleness Bakura showed him, the boy would have no inkling to throwing him to the cold pavement just to deny it. Yugi, unlike Anzu, knew when to keep his mouth shut. "And you know… When we'll meet Ryou again, I must ask him to sing to me this song. I'd like to know the continuation." said the boy knowing it was the proper thing to say, and waved to Bakura with his bandaged hand in a simple good-bye before he closed his window. The thief was surprised with his kindness and almost felt bad for hurting him, but soon he shrugged it off.

"He said "when" instead of "if"", thought Bakura. And then he smiled a bit in spite of himself, wishing he could have even a half of Yugi's faith.


	4. Chapter 4

_As always I'd like to thank the great god mother of this story - littlemichiru, for her help and editing this chapter into its readable version :) Only old gods know how grateful I am! :)_

 _Enjoy! :)_

 **4\. Admit you're getting insane**

Yugi barely remembered his stay at home after returning from school. The house once again looked like a battlefield soon after being bombarded by the English Royal Air Forces, but Yugi didn't even get a chance to feel bad that all his work the previous day was for nothing.

Sugoroku Mutou was ready to go; he probably had been ready since the time Yugi left for school. The boy barely had a moment to think that his grandfather looked as if he had been born ready for such an adventure. With a hat on his head and a huge rucksack already on his back, Sugoroku kept urging every couple of minutes his grandson to hurry. . Yugi was sure that his grandfather's rush was responsible for the fact he forgot to pack some essential things such as his toothbrush or his favorite pajamas. As they got in a car, he wondered if he would have a chance to buy these things somewhere in between running to the railway station, catching a train to Tokyo Narita, and dashing through countless check-ins, security controls, passports' check-points, and gates to the small airplane that waited for them. These procedures seemed to be endless, and it felt like an eternity when they finally got from one obligatory point to another, as if the whole Japan had decided to do everything in its power in order to keep them in the country.

Yugi couldn't blame the airport's staff for being so wary of them. He could understand that their group looked suspicious — a cheerful old man with a band of five teenagers to take care of was ready to take a long and expensive flight to a distant, exotic land, all packed as if they were about to go on a quest rather than vacations. Seeing the calculating look they received, Yugi started feeling nervous, but all the papers Bakura had given him the previous night were legit. It made him wonder once again how Bakura got them so quickly, but he knew that the thief wouldn't tell him so he decided not to push the matter.

The airplane was much smaller than what Yugi had imagined — never having been in a plane before. The young boy was afraid wondering if the small vehicle could really manage such a long-distant flight. A couple of smiling stewardesses led them into a luxurious cabin in the plane's first part, just behind the pilots' cabin, but their stares told Yugi that they too were wondering who the hell he and his group were. For sure they didn't look like the people the stewardesses were used to serve – they didn't even look like people rich enough to be able to buy such expensive tickets, but the women kept being professionally nice and helpful to all of them during the whole flight.

Yugi wrapped himself deep in a blanket with the airline's logo imprinted on its center. It wasn't cold in their cabin, but he wished for a place to hide until the journey's end. He had to fight with himself in order to not also cover his head with the blanket like a frightened little child would do. Actually he was utterly terrified knowing there were only some pieces of metal sheets that separated him from the hard ground; barely any comfort in case the plane decided to have a sudden meeting with said ground thousands of feet beneath them. After getting a cup of hot tea from a stewardess, he took a look around and tried to focus on something else rather than thinking of how high they were.

Yugi soon noticed that the plane was divided in three parts, each there to accommodate a specific group. There was the pilots' cabin, the part they were and which Yugi highly doubted was business class, and another cabin used by the stewardesses to prepare their meals and drinks as well as rest when they weren't needed by the group. Yugi had thought it was odd that their plane was so small and that no one else had boarded but now he started suspecting the expensive charter had been leased for them only. Again he tried not to think of Bakura's questionable methods of getting those tickets so he focused on his grandfather's words. Sugoroku was sitting two seats ahead with Anzu by his side. Yugi thought his grandpa had slyly trapped his best female friend into listening to him while he was reading another Egyptological book he had brought with him.

"You see, Anzu" Sugoroku was talking with great excitement, pointing to some drawings in the book, "the Egyptian underworld was a dangerous place. A dead Egyptian could easily meet there their second death which would mean their absolute vanishing from all existing worlds. That's why they had to bring the Book of the Dead with them – they called it the Book of Coming Forth by Day back in the ancient times and people made sure that they would have one placed close to their body in the coffin. It was a scroll with a pack of useful spells, containing knowledge of how to pass through the Shadow Realm safe and sound. The Duat, as they often named Osiris's kingdom, was full of monsters, demons, guards, and traps. You had to know how to deal with them all if you wanted to pass through unharmed."

Jonouchi and Honda were sitting side by side across Sugoroku and Anzu with a small table between the two pairs. Jonouchi was already asleep with his usual sheepish smile on his face. Judging by that smile, Yugi could bet his friend was dreaming about something pleasant, while Honda was playing with his game-boy, dividing his attention between the game and Sugoroku's tales.

"But even when you got ahead and didn't get kill during your way through the realm, there was one last obstruction no spell could help you pass. You were brought to the Hall of Two Maat where Osiris, the king, would judge if your heart was worthy to be given a peaceful life in the great Field of Reeds. It is the famous scene of spell no. 125 that I am talking about. Its vignette shows Anubis leading the dead to Osiris's throne, then Anubis weighing the soul's heart on the scale with monstrous Ammut ready to devour it if the scale shows that the person didn't live their life according to Maat's law. The soul was consequently punished by receiving a second, absolute death. But if you were a good human, you had nothing to be afraid of! After the weighing Osiris would welcome you in his kingdom and then you could live happily in the upside down version of Egypt above."

Yugi tuned out his grandfather's voice and turned his head back to see Bakura who had chosen a seat at the other side of the cabin as if he didn't want people to think he was part of the group. His eyes were shut and his temple pressed to the small window, giving the impression he was asleep, but somehow Yugi knew he was awake and alert since the beginning of their trip. Since they met at the airport, Bakura was trying to keep as great distance as it was possible. Fortunately for all of them, Anzu was too frightened after his last attack to even stand anywhere close him.

Yugi sighed. He couldn't help worrying about Bakura. The white haired boy had never been a friendly spirit, but without Ryou he was even more emotionally unstable. And way more dangerous too since he had decided to turn all his sadness and grief into wrath. Even after seeing how violent and brutal Bakura became in such a short time, Yugi felt sorry for him. The thief must have been truly heart-broken and tired of fighting his own despair. He didn't trust them and hated the thought of cooperating with someone else because his powers weren't enough to get Ryou back without any help. Yugi could only imagine how painful it must have been for such a proud, independent creature like Bakura who was used to doing everything by himself to ask for their help.

If it was any other of his friends, Yugi would go, sit by him, and comfort him using all his charming kindness, smiling softly at him and giving him hope that everything would be alright. But it was Bakura. For sure he wouldn't want any consolations, any soft words, or comforting hugs. It was for the best to leave him alone, so that's what Yugi did, feeling completely helpless against the thief's sorrow.

"That happened to everyone but the pharaoh, Anzu!" Sugoroku kept educating Anzu while Yugi was lost in his thoughts. "Oh, the pharaoh had a much nobler role to play after his death! The Book of the Dead was dedicated to the common folk rich enough to afford such an expensive, luxurious object. For the king there were compositions known now as the royal Books of the Afterlife painted on the tombs' walls. They were strictly forbidden for anyone but the pharaohs, because only these mighty kings who were thought of as gods would share the great fate of Ra. The spells and depictions of the solar barge, the ritual vessel that would carry the pharaoh, contained great magic that allowed the king to join the divine crew and make a nighttime journey through the whole Duat with the Sun. It is clearly drawn and told in here that the special attribute of the Shadow Realm is that time runs backward. That's why in the upper world at sunset the old Sun went down and rose above Osiris's kingdom not only to bring the light but also to die and be reborn as a young one. You see, my dear child, the Egyptian gods weren't immortal; they could actually die. But they were eternal, because they were reborn."

Soon Sugoroku's voice became a background noise and Yugi fell asleep. When he woke up some time later, he realized everyone, except a watchful Bakura, was asleep. The lights in the cabin were turned down to allow everybody a peaceful night rest. Yugi yawned and smiled when he saw the faint, half-transparent shadow of Yami sitting beside him and watching the dark, starry sky through the window. The clouds were far beneath them and everything was a shining pale blue because of the moonbeam outside.

"Hello." Yugi whispered quietly, stretching a bit under his blanket. "Aren't you nervous?" he asked softly taking in the figure of the spirit. "You will see your homeland for the first time in ages."

"I'm afraid I don't remember anything about my past life." answered Yami, but there was no sadness in his voice as if he only stated facts. "I think modern Egypt is far different from the one I knew, but I'm looking forward to checking it to see if I'll like it anyway. Also I want to help you get Ryou back. I truly hope the Ishtar's elder will be able to read the papyrus and tell us what we should do." It was clear the Pharaoh wanted to help his light get his friend back and would do everything to make sure all of them would make it out of there safely. For him it was a plus the trip would take them back to his land.

"Me too." admitted Yugi with a sigh. "It's sad to see Bakura so lost, and I truly wish we will find a way to bring Ryou back soon. I…don't want to even imagine where Ryou is, so I try to keep my thoughts on Bakura for now. He needs us." Yugi stole a glance towards the thief to see if his attention was on them, but the white haired boy seemed to be lost in his own thoughts.

"Another burst of his fury and the whole Egypt will burn to the ground..." murmured Yami, but then he smiled. "If I may give you an advice, better get some more sleep. We will soon land in Cairo and then there's a three hours layover to Luxor. We will both need your dependable strength, wisdom, and smartness, my partner." Yami said with that familiar warmth glowing in his eyes, those eyes that were set on Yugi in that special way which made the younger boy blush while feeling as if he was someone quite special to the spirit.

To Yugi's relief Yami disappeared a moment later. Yugi buried his red face in the blanket, not wanting anyone to see him so visibly embarrassed. His heart was beating too fast, but he couldn't help it. He wondered if Yami ever noticed the smaller boy's reactions to all his words, glances, and smiles, or if the pharaoh was completely unaware of how great an effect he had on him at all.

Yugi couldn't be sure. Yami's behavior could be interpreted in more than one way, his words could always have more than one meaning. Even when Yugi was searching for the answer in his eyes, the soft, crimson stares could be caused by some other reasons than love. The boy wanted to know the truth, yet he was too scared of being rejected to even fully bring this topic out in the open. Each time he gathered enough courage to start talking about it, he would give up quickly changing the subject and earning a questionable look from the confused spirit who was clueless to why the first topic was dropped without an explanation. Yugi was sure of how he felt for Yami, but he kept assuring himself that there will be a better day, better time, and better situation to confess to him. Especially now wasn't the right time to focus on his feelings when he should be focusing on his friend in need.

Yugi unwittingly let his mind wander from his other self to Ryou, and fell asleep once again.

…

Luxor at night was incredibly crowded and full of lights as if its dwellers didn't feel the need to rest. The streets and alleys were full of cars, horse carriages, and noisy people hurrying toward all possible as well as some impossible directions. Yugi was stunned and overwhelmed in the same time. It made a great impression to him seeing Luxor's ancient temple lighted up by countless colorful reflectors so close to the medieval mosque, the simple buildings made of mud-bricks, and the high glass skyscrapers. It made him feel as if he could touch the remains of many passed ages in one place.

Marik met them at the airport, led them to the parking area, and got them two taxis to get to the center of the city. Yugi who was in the first taxi with him looked at the young Egyptian noticing Marik looked much better than the last time he had seen him. Handsome as ever, with his caramel skin and oddly silver blonde hair, he for sure could without any great effort conquer any woman's heart, and some men's hearts as well. Marik laughed merrily when Anzu told him so and his light violet eyes shone with pride and happiness. No doubt he was glad to be back home and even have a chance to present it to his guests.

Finding traffic too bad to get through by car, Marik paid the driver of their taxi after a great, loud argument (very common in Egypt, as he said with a crooked smile, adding that no deal could be done without at least a little spat over prices), then proceeded doing the same with the other taxi driver, having decided for them to go the rest of the way by feet. Yugi felt dizzy, and it was hard for him to keep pace with the rest of the group so he thought himself lucky he didn't get lost during the walk.

"Here we are" announced Marik. "Sofitel Winter Palace is known as one of the most expensive hotels. I don't want to know where you found the money to check-in here, especially if Bakura is involved. Have a pleasant night rest. I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow morning." he said and waved at them, already on his way.

Trying not to think of Bakura's secrets once again, Yugi walked in the hotel. All he could do for several moments was to stare at the sight in front of him. Winter Palace was simply beautiful. Designed by someone with great esthetic sense and probably not having changed a lot since it was built by the British in the nineteenth century, the place was a true architectural gem. The porter that helped them with their luggage showed them to the suite he and his grandfather would share.. Yugi had never seen such a luxurious and abnormally huge hotel room and the young boy felt almost like a plebeian intruder walking in such wonderful rooms, dedicated rather to kings and presidents than common folk. All decorations and furniture seemed old and valuable enough for him to be scared to even touch them, afraid of destroying them. He checked with the rest of his friends who, with the exception of Bakura, were as stunned as he was. Jou and Honda shared a room, while Bakura and Anzu had their own rooms, but all of them were equally majestic. Overwhelmed and dazzled, Yugi returned to his room and carefully opened the balcony door stepping outside just to feel even more breathless.

The tri-color haired boy saw the dark waters of the Nile spreading in front of him and the black shapes of the famous Theban Mountains far behind the riverbank. In comparison to Luxor's crowds, brightness, and noise, the western bank seemed deadly dark and silent. The sky above the boy's head was deep blue, covered by stars looking like huge white flames. Yugi found this sky the most beautiful view he had ever seen in his entire life. He was so captivated by the view that he noticed his grandfather's presence only when Sugoroku gently touched his arm.

"It's wonderful, grandpa" Yugi whispered, still amazed and charmed. "I can fully understand why you love this place so much. It's so beautiful and magical here…"

"I am so happy to be here with you, my dear child" answered Sugoroku, and it was then that Yugi realized that his grandfather was crying tears of happiness. "I am just so damn happy that I can't stop crying!" Sugoroku laughed with more tears rolling down his cheeks. "I know it was something important that brought you here. I knew it from the very beginning, but when you gave me that strange papyrus to check out, I sensed another great adventure and couldn't help but give in. I am so sorry I didn't help you more, but since you decided not to tell me anything else I just thought you'll manage on your own. I believe you will, no matter what this is about. After all, it is you, Yugi, my great grandson, and the pharaoh's spirit beside you. There is no problem you two wouldn't solve together."

Without saying anything Yugi hugged his grandpa tightly, and they stayed still, watching the amazing sight of Egypt spreading in front of their eyes.

…

A bit after sunrise Marik dragged them out of their beds and kept urging them to hurry up until all of them were ready to go. He seemed to be in an excellent mood, but he didn't let them eat a proper breakfast, asking someone at the hotel to pack their breakfast for them before leading them outside.

"There are too many places I'd like you to see to waste our time on eating!" he said, completely ignoring Jounouchi's begs for mercy. The blonde thought Marik was there to torture them by starving them. "We better go now! The Karnak temple is huge and, believe me, you want to visit it before midday's sun turns you into a raisin!"

"Hey! Weren't we suppose to have a little chat with your noble ancestor or something like that?" asked Jounouchi, already half-dead after sightseeing both the Karnak and Luxor temples, the Egyptian museum at Kornish, and Suk – a trade market where they were surrounded by loud sellers trying to sell them as many souvenirs as it was possible in prices so high no doubt only senseless tourists would pay. Marik seemed even more self-satisfied and showed them some mercy letting them rest for a while in a small café.

"If you want to meet the elder, first you need to see my land and understand its duality." Marik explained as they settled in some comfortable armchairs enjoying the pleasant shadow of the café. "I've already shown you the eastern bank, the living one. Next step is to go to the western bank, the one dedicated to the dead. The famous Gurna village lies up there, and I wish you to see some mortuary temples and royal tombs before we go to the elder." The Egyptian seemed to glow naming the monuments of his country. "Cold karkade for me and my friends, please!" he called to the waiter before turning to Yugi, lowering his tone. "Would you mind speaking to me for a while? Alone, if it's possible."

Surprised, Yugi just nodded, and let Marik lead him to the furthest corner of the café. The other Egyptian customers were loud enough anyway so they would not be overheard by the group. Yugi noticed that his friends were too exhausted and were cheerfully enjoying their traditional hibiscus drink at the moment, probably worried they wouldn't get to rest again for a while.

"Ishizu couldn't join us because of her duties back in Cairo's Department of Antiquity, but she called me as soon as she got a message from your grandfather" said Marik with such seriousness in his voice that Yugi felt a cold shiver running down his spine despite of the Egyptian heat. "She can still see a bit of the future sometimes so she told me we should keep our eyes open. You know her visions were always cryptic but she said she sensed death close, a great loss, and great despair. This whole trip has something to do with Ryou, doesn't it? I can see Bakura being alone out there. It's hard for others to notice, but since I had my own yami, I can distinguish one from the other, and I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with him."

"Yes. You're right" answered Yugi, and briefly explained to Marik what had happened before and what made them all inclined to speak to his ancestor. "I believe we will find a way to bring Ryou back when the elder tell us what that strange message is about. I have a feeling the message is the key."

"We need to meet this ancestor of yours soon." interfered Yami, suddenly appearing behind Yugi's back. "Bakura's state is getting worse I'm afraid. He's suffering and avoiding this pain with an almost murderous desperation which makes him as safe as a ticking bomb ready to explode. . I am not sure how much he remembers from his previous life but watching all these ancient remains seems to be doing nothing good to him."

"Okay. Just finish your drinks and I'll guide you on." agreed Marik with a worried look and left Yugi alone with his other self.

"How about you?" Yugi asked gently. With all the see sighting Marik had made them do through the day, he hadn't had a chance to talk to his darkness.

"I don't really know… It's a bit surrealistic for me. You know, somewhere there, in the Valley of the Kings, lies my tomb with my dead body inside. Thinking of my mummy's existence, being so close, is just… Well, as if I cannot pretend any longer that I'm alive in any wicked way, because the truth is…" Yami seemed to struggle with words, and Yugi didn't like that. He didn't like the implication he wasn't alive, because even though he had no physical form, he could feel. He existed.

"The truth is you're here. Now. Beside me." Yugi placed his hand where the pharaoh's arm should be. "Nothing is more important than that." If only Yami knew the truth behind those words.

"You know… Being here feels to me like seeing two views at once. My memories are mixed with reality creating together one blurry image. I don't remember anything personal but it is as if I get glimpses of the reality that used to be mine. I can see simple boats made of reeds as well as modern felukas and motorboats crossing the Nile. I can see the temples as they are now as well as their ancient versions full of colors and crowded by cheering people in linen dresses. I can see the irrigated fields as they are nowadays as well as the seasonal river flood of Ancient Egypt. If Bakura also experiences things like I do, I don't know for how long he will be able to handle it."

"We should better go." said Yugi with his heart heavy with worry, already hurrying back toward Marik who was urging his guests to get ready to leave.

The group rented a motorboat and crossed the river. Their boatman was smiling and openly flirting with Anzu until he and Marik started another argue over his payment. They spoke Arabic really fast so even Yugi's grandfather had trouble keeping up but there was no doubt there were plenty of amounts mentioned throughout the exchange until they both agreed that eight Egyptian pounds was a good price for their boat's course. The village ahead was much smaller than what everyone expected, and seemed about two centuries older than Luxor was. Almost all its houses were made of mud-bricks. Surrounding the area, there were wide fields and banana groves, with cows, goats, donkeys and horses often in sight. From there the Theban Mountains looked even more majestic, acquiring a yellow shade against the Egyptian bright blue sky.

Marik guided them toward a regular Egyptian bus, which was crowded even before all of them walked in. The driver just waved his hand and drove away with the entrance door wide open. Inside it was far from comfortable, but soon Marik gave the driver a sign to stop. Yugi had barely gotten off the bus when the sight in front of him forced him to catch his breath.

Yami's transparent shadow was close behind Yugi's back. His face showed that he was even more amazed than Yugi. The deserted hills and mountains were huge, carved and shaped into wadis – narrow valleys adapted to house the royal mortuary temples and tombs for both the kings and ancient Egyptian aristocrats. It was a breathtaking view which made everyone feel like they were about to touch the sacred remains of a long gone era.

"Shall we?" asked Marik with a grin, extremely satisfied by the astonished expressions on his friends' faces. "We don't have much time, but I'd like you to see at least the Medinet Habu, the Deir el-Medina village remains, the Deir el-Bahari temple, and the Valley of the Kings. My ancestor lives behind those hills. I believe we will reach him before sunset."

At first sight Marik acted the same way he did before his talk with Yugi and Yami, but Yugi could clearly notice the way his shoulders were tense and the way his eyes looked around always on alert. He also noticed that Marik was always close to Bakura. He would leave the white haired boy's side only when he needed to speak with the monuments' guardians to let them visit another amazing place. Yugi was both stunned by the great sights and worried at the same time. He couldn't fully relax feeling his other self being so nervous and unsteady in addition to knowing that Bakura was far from normal as well. The young tri-color haired boy couldn't imagine what was going on inside the thief's mind or what his eyes were seeing, but from his haunted look he could gather that it must have been horrible.

It was just after arriving to the Valley of the Kings when Jounouchi asked, "Where's Bakura?". It was a simple question, but Yugi felt that all of the sudden his heart had stopped beating. They had been so careful! How could this have happened? He looked around him, but Bakura was indeed nowhere to be seen. If they had lost him, it would be a complete disaster. The thief was far out of his senses, his mind blurred and distorted.

"We better go and find him!" said Anzu. She didn't know what had caused the look of distress on Yugi's face, but she knew an unrestrained Bakura wasn't a good thing.

"Stop! All of you!" commanded Marik, his voice full of authority. His iris eyes flashed with concern and anger.

He took out of his pocket a small machine similar to a short-wave transmitter and started speaking to someone really quickly in Arabic. Voices answered his questions, and Yugi assumed by the way Marik kept pacing around the group and speaking in a rougher voice this time that the news was nothing but good. The Egyptian teen used his surname a couple of times as if the sound of the Ishtar name itself would be helpful in this case. It was after another reply when a horrified Sugoroku exclaimed with eyes wide open:

"He can't know what he's doing or where he's going! Poor Ryou! They cannot shoot him!" he almost screamed the last part. He would be damned if one of the kids was killed on his watch.

"What?!" gasped Anzu, pure terror in her eyes. Shoot him? Why would anyone shoot Bakura? What had he done?

"There are gafirs, guardians, at the tops of the mountains and hills everywhere around here." explained Yugi's grandfather, pointing at the shadowy shapes high above their heads. Yugi felt a cold shiver rocking his body when he saw the gafirs watching the landscape making their appearance apparent. Yugi had to carefully look at where his grandfather was pointing but soon he could see them standing in position with the sun shining on their rifles as they seemed ready to shoot. "They guard the area and can freely take down anybody who looks suspicious, or wanders in the strictly forbidden areas. The Valley of the Kings is the most guarded part, and, according to the Egyptian Department of Antiquity, it must be protected no matter what. If we won't find him soon and prevent him from doing something stupid, I am afraid spending the rest of his life in an Egyptian jail will be the least of his problems."


	5. Chapter 5

_As always I'd_ _like to thank my wonderful beta littlemichiru for her editing, help and continuous support! :) Without You this story wouldn't ever exist! :)_

 _Also I'd like to thank for all comments! They cheer me up a lot! :)_

 _Enjoy! :)_

 **5\. Admit what is important for you**

"Stay here! All of you!" commanded Marik with a steady voice that didn't match the worry in his eyes. That worry made Yugi understand Marik wasn't sure he'd be able to find Bakura on time. "I need to know that at least the rest of you are in a safe place."

"Do you know where to find him?" asked Anzu, who was deeply convinced that Bakura had thrown himself in great danger, risking not only his own life but their safety as well. Even if she wasn't very fond of him, she didn't want him to get killed. It was Ryou's body he was using after all, and Anzu doubted it would be possible to bring Ryou's soul back into an already cold, dead body.

"Since I know Bakura's true nature, I can think of only one place he might have gone to. And I really don't like the idea." replied Marik, already on his way toward somewhere further in the wadi. "Please, stay still. The last thing we need right now is to alarm the tourists that something's wrong. Act as normal as you can and wait for me."

"Take me with you!" asked Yugi with begging eyes, catching Marik's wrist. "I might be able to help you calm Bakura down and bring him back to his senses! Give me a chance to do it my way before guns are involved, please!"

"Yugi, believe me, I have my reasons to leave you behind." said Marik, but no matter how hard he tried to free himself, Yugi used all his strength, not letting him go. "Look, I don't have time to explain, but…"

"Please! Just take me with you!" Yugi almost cried out. Deep inside him, he was convinced that something horrible and irreversible would happen if he didn't go. The boy had learnt to trust these strong instincts even if he didn't know where they came from, and this one was so powerful he could literally feel his heart freeze in fear. "Please!"

"Yugi, I really don't think it would be good for both you and the Pharaoh." Marik sighed, but his eyes were filled with sadness. "If I am right, mentally, Bakura is once again the thief, murderer, and tomb robber he used to be three thousand years ago. He's probably completely insane at the moment and it's too dangerous for you to follow me on the path I need to take. Not to mention that I am not sure the Pharaoh will be okay seeing his own grave. I want you to also think there is a possibility we may be too late or unsuccessful. Do you think you would be able to handle seeing Bakura dead, already shot on the spot after his futile attempts to break into the last closed royal tomb in the Valley of the Kings?"

"So let me prevent it from happening!" Yugi was close to tears, surprising everybody around by his burst of desperation. They could tell his eyes glistered with tears of frustration rather than fear.

"I will be fine." said Yami, his voice steady and reliable; his concern for Yugi clearly much stronger than his own fears would ever be. He appeared just behind his partner's back with an unhesitating expression on his face. "I can fight back all those glimpses that would blur my vision. I just need to focus on something, something important, and don't let myself lose sight of it." he assured Marik but his eyes were on Yugi. If Yugi thought he could save the thief then he would be damned to hold him back because of his inability to separate vision from reality.

"I'm totally clueless about what's going on here." admitted Jounouchi with confusion. He and the rest of the group couldn't see the spirit of the Pharaoh and couldn't understand what was happening to Bakura but they trusted Yugi. "All I can say is try to trust him, Marik. It might sound crazy, but usually Yugi is right about such things." Yugi smiled at his friend's vote of trust.

"You should go." Sugoroku said, reminding them they needed to hurry. "Yugi should come with you. We will wait here." It was as if the matter was decided. "Good luck to you, my dear children!"

Marik finally gave up, probably understanding that sometimes rational arguments cannot beat up simple intuition. After all he had experienced, he couldn't simply ignore Yugi's insticts. He just nodded and led both Yugi and the shadow of Yami further into a seemingly deserted part of the valley. The wadi was getting narrower as it reached a dead end, but the Egyptian seemed to know where he was going. He slipped inside a rock rift almost invisible if you weren't standing in the proper place to see that the valley spread ahead. After this passage the wadi turned even narrower – if Yugi would only spread his arms, his fingers would reach the walls on both sides at once. No doubt someone with claustrophobia would be driven crazy in such a cramped place.

"Watch out for the rocks." warned Marik, turning to look at him, his voice barely a whisper. "Don't touch anything, if it's possible, and don't raise your voice. One frightened pigeon, or the echo of our voices, might cause a rock falling from high above just straight on your head. Sorry if it sounds crude, but nobody would live with a skull smashed that way— trust me, I've seen it before— and I really don't want you to share such a fate."

Yugi simply nodded and tried to keep pace with him. Bakura was still nowhere in sight and the boy couldn't help worrying even more. Marik's short-wave transmitter had transferred some laconic statements, most of them sounding broken due to the flimsy signal, but the Egyptian understood them all anyway.

" _Mednaka_. Bakura, _ya ibn el kalb_." he angrily murmured to himself in Arabic. Even if Yugi could only recognize the Millennium Ring's spirit's name, the rest of the words sounded to him far from pleasant and polite .

The yellow rock walls around them grew higher, leaving only a narrow slice of blue sky far above their heads. A soft breeze teased them beneath the heat of a full sun. Yugi felt as if there wasn't enough oxygen for him and Marik to share when the Egyptian without a word pointed toward some spot above and carefully started climbing up. Yugi followed him, mimicking him step by step, trying not to watch how distant the bottom of the valley was now. Yami kept floating around and advising him where it would be best to place a foot or hand in order to climb safely to the destination. The Pharaoh seemed really worried and wished to take over but knew such a suggestion would only offend the other.

"It was the eighteenth dynasty's idea to build up the so-called "hanging tombs" in the Valley of the Kings. It was closer to Ra and further away from Osiris, as they wanted." said Marik in a low voice when Yugi finally reached the same level he was in a place where there was an opening wide enough for both of them to rest for a while. "The ones like Hatshepsut's or Thutmose the Third's are the best examples. They were carved high in the rock. The workers worked on them hanging from above and the coffins and other stuff were brought down with ropes during the funeral ceremonies. Our Pharaoh's tomb was built up in the same manner, but in a much more inaccessible place, deeper in the wadi, and far from the other tombs. It was hard to find, so all these past years only the Tombkeepers and Yugi's grandfather knew the exact location." Marik chose to overlook the fact that all others who discovered the tomb were dead. "But anyway, here we are, six or seven more meters up and you will face your own grave, Yami." Marik smirked in that specific, tired way as if he wanted to say "You shouldn't be here, and I have tried to stop you, but you didn't listen to me".

"Don't worry, I'll manage." replied Yami smirking lightly back, and judging by his expression Yugi could tell that his other self was indeed doing fine.

Yami's words cheered Yugi up a bit. It was a great relief knowing that the Pharaoh didn't seem to succumb to thoughts of his close proximity to his mummy. Yugi meant each word he'd said to him back in Luxor's café and was glad Yami didn't trouble himself anymore thinking of his dead body. No matter what Marik said, Yami was there. That tomb held only a part of the Pharaoh and not the most important part either. Hopping to cheer up his other half too, Yugi managed to give him a smile before Marik gave the sign to follow him once again.

The last part of the climb was easier, since there were more holes and rocks to support them. Breathing hard and fighting back an overpowering need to cough, Yugi emerged at the top of the dusty plateau grateful to have more sky in view at last. That was the only moment of rest he was allowed before he was back on his feet taking in the scene in front of him. One glance was enough for him to realize how bad the situation was. He noticed the three gafirs positioned on the opposite valley's wall, with their rifles shifted and ready to shoot. Yugi shivered in pure terror, knowing that it was only thanks to Marik's commands that they hadn't killed Bakura yet, even if they had more than a reason to do so. For anyone else it would be impossible to say if the huge stones covering the plateau were truly hiding a monumental royal tomb behind them, but Bakura seemed to be convinced enough to have already cut down a little hole somewhere in between them. For now it was too small for anything bigger than a cat to use as an entrance, but that little cavern was leading into a deep, black nowhere. The empty space in there suggested the existence of a corridor forged down inside the mountain and no doubt Bakura was fully aware of where to dig to find what he was searching for.

And the King of Thieves himself… Bakura was facing them with a stare too hollow to say if he really saw them or not. His eyes implied a living person, but Yugi would dare to assume Bakura's eyes were focused on some other reality now, drowned in the reflections of his long forgotten memories and long gone past persona. But how could he lose himself so much? Was he fighting with something more than his own despair and had already proclaimed himself defeated? Marik stopped some meters away from him and loudly called out the thief's name, but it looked like Bakura didn't or couldn't hear him. Instead of a reply he took out a knife and growled something in a language Yugi couldn't understand.

"Shit!" cursed Marik, stepping back, his eyes set on the blade. "How the hell did you smuggle this clasp knife of yours in here? How did you even pass it through customs?!"

"More importantly, against who is he going to use it?" said Yami, his eyes never leaving the thief as he tried to shield Yugi with his own half-transparent body. A part of his mind, the logical part, told him it would do no good but he still couldn't not try to protect Yugi. Tendrils of shadow magic lingered around the spirit but he couldn't exactly use them without a physical body. "We don't experience this the same way as Bakura. He's convinced he is in Egypt three thousand years ago, he even uses ancient Egyptian."

"There must be something we can do to bring his mind back to today." replied Yugi, unfazed by Yami's attempts to shield him. The situation was really bad but he wasn't about to give up.

"I'm afraid there's not enough time to play around." responded Marik. Frustration sipped through his voice, feeling the situation slipping completely out of his control.

He shouted back to the gafirs a few words and received some grunts in reply, then he cursed harshly in Japanese in order not to be understood by his countrymen, and again shouted something in a more definite way. Yugi understood it was hard to defend somebody who had already opened a hole to the royal tomb, was armed, and definitely about to hurt someone soon. He was grateful that Marik trusted him enough to try and buy him some time by keeping back the irritated, impatient guardians.

As Yami said before – he was able to avoid his visions by focusing on something important to him. Would it work for Bakura too? What was important to him? Important enough to bring him back to his senses? Yugi frowned. It was risky, the idea he had, but then Bakura suddenly jumped forward with his knife lifted to attack and Yugi had no more time to think. Marik blocked the King of Thieves, but they were too close to the edge of plateau not to fall down soon, so Yugi just followed his first idea, something inside him telling him to give it a try. It was his trump card. He gave everything he had and started:

 _"_ _Sing me your song and let me hear_

 _When darkness comes and death is near._

 _Sing me your song and let me know_

 _If there's any place for me in your soul._

 _Sing me your song and…"_

He finished the song, singing the part he'd heard Bakura singing two days ago on his roof. He put all his heart on those words.. Bakura didn't respond, but at least he stopped trying to push Marik over the edge. "Now, come on…", whispered Yugi to himself and sang the song once again, catching Bakura's attention and waiting for him to sing the next lines. He had to remember.. "Oh, Ryou, please… Wherever you are, help me bring him back to us!" he pleaded and tried one more time.

"I know you can do it, Bakura. Listen, keep listening to me." he murmured and repeated the song, but the hope that the thief would be able to shake whatever was happening to him off was fading. Marik used Bakura's distracted state as a chance to push the white haired boy on the ground and throw his knife far away to the valley's mouth.

"You tried your best…" said Yami, his voice comforting and calming while Yugi just sat on a rock with his eyes filled with unshed tears. Bakura was weakly fighting with Marik, but in his current state it was a lost fight; Marik had already disarmed him and had him unable to move.

"Just one more time… One more time and then I'll give up…" the boy asked and sang again, his voice unsteady and trembling this time.

 _"_ _Sing me your song and let me hear_

 _When darkness comes and death is near._

 _Sing me your song and let me know_

 _If there's any place for me in your soul._

 _Sing me your song and…"_

It was a few seconds of silence until they all heard Bakura's voice:

 _"_ _Sing me your song and sing me to sleep_

 _Because this song is all that I need._

 _Sing me your song when all turns black_

 _Even if you'll never love me back._

 _So sing me your song as night passes by_

 _And let your deep hatred be my lullaby."_

"Oh, Ryou?" Bakura said with a kind of sleepy confusion in his voice, as if only then the full meaning of the song reached him. "How did your little, silly head come with the idea I hate you?" he asked distractedly, but just after those words left his mouth, he shuddered and blinked. The look he gave them made the group understand he was completely clueless about why was he lying on the plateau high above the valley's bottom with Marik on his back, Yami upon his head, and Yugi in tears, sobbing and smiling at the same time. "What the…?" he started, but stopped and grimaced, feeling his head aching badly. "Do I even want to know what happened here just a second ago?"

"Maybe later." responded Marik, more relaxed than he felt the whole day, able to even smile a bit to express his great relief. "Stay still now. I need to work with the situation at hand and you better cooperate with me. I bet you don't want those nice guys and their rifles over there to make you as full of holes as a sieve or a slice of Swiss cheese are. Also it would be a pity to turn Yugi's work to nothing by stupidly getting yourself killed." he added, briefly checking Bakura's body. "I hope you don't carry any more weapons."

"So that's why I need to lay down and tamely let you molest me?" sneered Bakura with a crooked smile, more than convinced that in case he didn't cooperate Yami would find a much more unpleasant way to make him obey. The spirit of the Puzzle looked ready to kill him. "Does Rishid like that? You know, you being so rough, and possessive, and… Ouch! There was no need to hit me like that!" he complained weakly.

"But I am rough and possessive, didn't you just say so?" replied Marik coldly and kept searching until he pulled a papyrus out of Bakura's pocket. "Now. Did you knowingly steal it from Yugi's grandfather, or are you a kind of pickpocket-kleptomaniac with strong suicidal inclinations that sleepwalks?"

"What? I didn't touch this wretched thing since I passed it to Sugoroku! I don't know neither why I was carrying this cursed papyrus nor what the hell I'm doing up here with all of you above my head." growled Bakura with enough familiar irritation for Marik to understand it was true. Sighing, he let him go.

With some effort, Bakura carefully sat up. Before he could make another move, Yugi jumped and hugged him, with Yami's obviously displeased groan following him in the background. The way Yugi embraced Bakura showed how distressed the boy had been; scared the other boy would lose his life. Bakura couldn't understand what had caused Yugi so much distress, but his head was spinning and aching too much, so he restrained himself from asking, at least for the moment. He didn't even have the heart to push the boy away, but thankfully Yugi quickly pulled back.

"I'm so happy you're back to normal!" Yugi exclaimed cheerfully, but his tears told Bakura that during the blank time in his memory something very alarming had happened to him. "Oh, you feel a bit warm. Do you have a fever? How do you feel?" Yugi was too worried to stop himself.

"He looks pretty good, I think" Marik said dryly. "A common soul wouldn't survive something like this, but Bakura is way too devious to be beaten up so easily" The Egyptian added, not even trying to hide his scolding expression. "It was this papyrus that brainwashed you and nearly pushed you to death. Somebody truly wants you to visit the Duat soon. Come on now, we need to bring this cursed thing to my ancestor. I am afraid it is more dangerous and has more power than I thought at first. I'm keeping it, so don't you dare to steal it again!"

"Lean on me." said Yugi to Bakura softly. Marik had already taken the path down only turning to urge them all to hurry up.

"I don't want any…" started the King of Thieves, evidently still too proud to admit he couldn't even stand upright without any support now.

"I know, I know! You don't want any help. But let's say I'm paying my debts towards you, for what you did for me back at my roof. Is it okay for you?" replied Yugi, gently supporting him while trying hard to ignore the furious glares of his other self who was clearly, very, VERY discontented seeing his partner so close to Bakura.

They all made their way safe down to the bottom. Yugi was exhausted. The climb down was as hard as climbing up and the added weight of Bakura made it even harder for his petite built. However, throughout the climb he didn't complain at all. He didn't want to give Yami a reason to take over. Even though he trusted Yami with his life, he didn't trust him with Bakura's life. Marik pulled the Millennium Ring's spirit away from Yugi as soon as they reached the bottom , noticing that Yami was about to burn the whole world if those two would stay so close any second longer. Yugi smiled faintly, but he knew he was in trouble.

Yami gave him a scorching look before he shot the question through their mind-link.

"Do you think that maybe now is the right time for you to tell me what that song was and what this paying-debt-for-some-roof-business thing meant, huh?" the Pharaoh's voice was full of sweet venom. "Don't think you'll be free to go without fully explaining yourself, partner."

Yugi gulped loudly as he started explaining. It was going to be a long, long day.

…

It was a long way to walk, full of climbing, sharp rocks, and the heat and the bright sunlight that hurt their eyes didn't help at all. Jounouchi's complaining was a constant thing and soon everyone started ignoring it. Bakura's fever got worse, so during the last part of the trip he was rather carried than supported by Honda much to his dismay. Yugi kept looking at the thief with worry. Even if the papyrus hadn't killed him, for sure it succeeded into draining him. In the end he wasn't even strong enough to push Honda away and just hung inertly in his arms like a broken doll.

"Wouldn't it be better to take him to a doctor?" asked Anzu. "He's so pale as if he's about to die soon…"

"He's not visibly wounded. Any normal doctor wouldn't find anything abnormal with his body." replied Marik curtly. "It's something more otherworldly, and in that case my noble ancestor will be much more helpful."

"Is he far away from here?" asked Jounouchi, obviously caring more about some shade and water than Bakura's state. "I'm gonna die out here."

"Not really. I'm pretty sure you'll make it." Marik smiled and pointed out toward some holes at the mountain nearby. "He lives up there."

"Oh, great! But, wait just a second! Aren't those…?" started Jounouchi as his eyes widened. With comprehension about what Marik had said, came fear.

"Yes, all those holes are ancient tombs' entrances. My ancestor's clan dwells there for a long, long time."

"So you want to say… we are going to enter and sleep in somebody's tomb?!"

"Exactly." replied Marik with an even bigger smile. He actually seemed to enjoy Jounouchi's reactions.

"It was common for the hermits to escape to the desert and find shelter in the tombs." added happily Sugoroku. It seemed he was in a much better condition than Jounouchi or Honda, as if the sun and high temperatures didn't really affect him. "The locals used to give them food, water, and clothes. It wasn't long before these hermits were thought to be living saints and in exchange for gifts people asked them to pray on their behalf, as if a saint's prayer had greater power than common prayers. Some of these people would come from very distant lands just to ask the saints to pray on their behalf for health, wealth, happiness, and so on. This tradition lasted for hundreds of years!"

Yugi loved his grandpa's stories so much. He felt tired and wasn't very happy about the fact Yami had retreated back in the Millennium Puzzle, offended and still angry, but those stories always managed to cheer him up. It was the same thing since he was a child. Still he was amazed by how many things Sugoroku remembered, and couldn't help but wonder if he would ever be able to listen to all the stories. "You would like them too" he thought through the mind-link, not surprised when the Pharaoh remained silent. Yugi knew Yami had good reasons to be angry as he knew that this anger would disappear in a moment if only he was in a seriously need of him. "Don't worry, I'll repeat the story to you as soon as you decide to show up again" he added and smiled, touching gently the Millennium Item hanging around his neck.

"…I still find it really creepy…" mumbled Jounouchi, but didn't get a chance to add something more in that matter, because a solitary horse-rider was seen riding towards them.

There was a huge cloud of dust around the rider, but Marik's relaxed pose told them they had nothing to be afraid of. Soon the rider reached them and they recognized Rishid. Without any greeting, he jumped down from the still galloping horse just to catch Marik and close him in an embrace strong enough to break all his ribs.

"Oh… My…" choked Marik with his face pressed to his adoptive brother's chest. "You will… suffocate me…"

"I was so worried about you!" Rishid reprimanded him paying no attention to Marik's attempts to catch his breath. "You promised not to put yourself in danger and what did you do?! You put yourself in danger!"

"Ri…shid… Please…"

"The gafirs from the Valley of the Kings already told me everything!" the Egyptian kept going, no matter how badly Marik fought his strong hug. "You thoughtless jerk! You were within shooting range all the time! He was armed and could have killed you all up there, he nearly pushed you down over the plateau's edge! And they couldn't do anything to save your lives because you were shielding him with your own body! I was soooooo damn worried, you stupid, dull, idiotic…"

"A pretty lover's quarrel, isn't it?" commented Bakura clearly in a playful mood despite his fever and weakened state. He'd heard everything Rishid said and chose to go for a teasing comment with an edge instead of a full growl.

"Huh? Marik? Did you tell him about us?" asked a confused Rishid, at last letting his adoptive brother to inhale, gaining a couple of shocked stares in the process.

"Not at all. To be honest, I bluffed, but you admitted it all by yourself now." replied the King of Thieves with a malicious smile, enjoying how everybody was more or less surprised by the last announcement. "Interesting, indeed. Your relationship changed a lot since we last saw each other! Would you mind some congratulations?"

"I'm starting to regret that I didn't let them shoot him on the spot back at the entrance of the Pharaoh's tomb..." growled Marik, but his blush made it more than obvious he was embarrassed. "Rishid, please, take him on the horse with you and go ahead, otherwise I might kill him before we reach the elder. And you all!" Marik turned to the group and pointed at each one with his finger, half embarrassed and half murderous at the same time. "Don't you dare to say a word about this until we get to my ancestor, because I am not responsible for what I will do to you if you won't listen to me!"


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! As always I want to say how grateful I am that littlemichiru corrected this chapter :) Thank You for all Your magic, Your help and Your kindness :)

Enjoy!

 **6\. Admit where you belong**

The desert seemed further and further away as the group followed Marik up to the path towards the place his clan had chosen as their home. Yugi wasn't very comfortable with climbing for the second time that day but he didn't complain. His muscles hurt and his vision turned fuzzy so he made sure not to watch the growing distance between his feet and the ground level far below. He survived one climb. Surely he would survive another one. A path wide enough for two people to walk side to side led up to the entrances of some nearby tombs. Yugi noticed that the first ones only contained vessels and big jars, as if they were used as storages for supplies. Their entrances were blocked by fences made of thin palm branches, probably there in order to prevent desert foxes from sneaking in and eating everything. As they walked further into the path, the tombs had bigger entrances and higher ceilings, which made it possible for people to stay upright in there instead of hunching or crawling and watching out not to hit their head on the vault's ceiling or arches. Clearly those were the ones occupied by people.

The deeper into the tombs the Egyptian led them, the more intrigued stares they got from all sides, as women, men and children emerged from their houses to greet Marik and take a look at the strangers he brought with him. All of them wore long, simple linen dresses, which Yugi noticed were partly Arabic and partly Egyptian in style. The people seemed to be adjusted to their rough, nomadic life deep in the mountains and desert and away from civilization, so that was why such an unusual group made such a great impression to them. To Yugi's relief, they were more curious and surprised than angry they had entered into their territory as if they trusted Marik enough to be sure he wouldn't bring anyone dangerous to the village.

Rishid came out from the very last tomb, his look worried and his voice unsteady."Better hurry up. Things are far from okay. He's getting worse. The elder already decided what to do, but…"Without stopping to ask any questions, Marik dashed inside the tomb with the rest of group close behind him. The tomb they entered was enormous. No doubt that was why the Ishtar clan had chosen and adapted it to the role of their main ritual room years ago. All walls as well as the ceiling were painted with scenes Yugi recognized as vignettes from the Book of the Dead that his grandpa had shown him plenty of times before. There were paintings of the ancient funeral, the jackal-headed priest embalming the body, the journey through the Duat, the dead dealing with the afterlife guardians and monsters and many, many more. All depictions were accompanied by long hieroglyphic inscriptions covering every free space between the vignettes. Yugi noticed the inscriptions continued on the floor beneath his feet as well, as if both the ceiling and the walls didn't provide enough space to write down everything that needed to be written.

Not able to take a closer look at those inscriptions, Yugi followed Marik and Rishid to the next chamber. He instantly felt his heart freeze seeing Bakura lying on the floor dressed in some white linen clothes. He was pale like a ghost and his expression clearly told Yugi that the thief was in great pain. An incredibly old man was kneeled beside him covering the spirit's eyes with his wrinkled hand. Bakura produced a faint scream and tried ineffectively to push the man away as if his touch caused him nothing but more pain. Even if he seemed small, Yugi quickly realized that somehow this extraordinary old man was able to hold Bakura still with just one weak and arthrosis-twisted hand. The young boy wanted to walk there and separate them, but Marik stopped him with a serious expression on his face.

"It hurts him!" protested Yugi, surprised that Marik would allow such violence.

"I'm sorry, Yugi. We need to restrain Bakura and this is the only way to do so. This fragile, exhausted body has reached its limits. It won't handle being the host of such a strong spirit any longer. You too can see how bad Bakura's state is right now. We must push him back into the Millennium Ring and seal him inside for a while to tend to this wounded, emaciated body before we can transfer Ryou back into it. Otherwise…" Yugi shivered, so Marik didn't finish his statement but instead smiled a bit. "Bakura will be okay. It would be a much quicker and painless process if only he would stop resisting, but believe me, he'll be perfectly fine. It looks worse than it is in fact."

But even after Marik's assurance, Yugi couldn't help worrying. It was terrifying to listen to Bakura's screams and see his weak attempts to escape. For some seconds long as eternity itself, the only thing that could be heard were the elder's quiet murmuring and the thief's painful moans that filled up the room. The Ishtar ancestor kept chanting until Bakura's tensed muscles relaxed and his head fell to the side showing he finally lost consciousness.

Without a word of explanation the elder stood slowly up, hissing angrily at Rishid who offered him his hand. Yugi was shocked by the way the old man was looking at the unconscious King of Thieves lying by his feet. His dark, sharp eyes reflected horrible disdain, as if Bakura was as disgusting to him as something repellent stuck on the outsole of his shoe. Then he lifted his head and pierced Marik with the same look filled up with all the aversion he felt towards the boy.

"So that is how the sinful heir comes back!" he scoffed with obvious contempt. "Bringing death and foreigners into his own nest… Your vulgarity truly doesn't know any limits, does it?"

"And that is how my noble ancestor is." replied Marik, his voice as cold as the Antarctic wind chilling flesh and spirit alike. "He knows every language of this world and yet he chooses to use Japanese in order to offend me in front of my guests."

No doubt there was no great sympathy between Marik and his ancestor. The oldster clearly was hostile toward Marik and everything connected to him in every possible way. Unwittingly Yugi felt like an intruder, but he couldn't help wondering why their relation was so strained. The elder didn't like visitors for sure, but the boy sensed something deeper hidden in the hateful comments.

"You ordered Rishid to carry it into our sacred area." growled the old man, pointing at Bakura and obviously referring to him as "it" instead of "he". "The purification of this zone will take me months! This disgusting living corpse will soak everything with its deadly odor. You're a greater fool than I've ever imagined. You will truly regret dragging all of us into this."

"Don't forget your place!" snapped Marik sharply. "I am a legitimate Tombkeepers' heir. All clan servants and former leaders must serve me with all their hearts, skills and will. For now I'm politely asking for your help. Next time I will command you to help us and believe me you will be the only one to regret it then."

"How am I supposed to respect a murderer?" barked the elder, his eyes shining with anger. "A thief? A robber? A traitor? A deceiver? A faggot?"

"Enough!" Marik's voice echoed in the chamber and slowly fainted, leaving a hollow silence. "Enough." The Egyptian repeated and gave his ancestor one last warning glare before he left him behind leading everyone back to the first chamber. He was obviously tired and dejected by the prolonged resistance of his elder. Yugi saw it in his smile as soon as the young heir faced them again. Others wouldn't notice a thing, but Yugi clearly saw that this smile, seemingly so careless and cheerful, never reached Marik's eyes; those eyes which were still filled with pain and despair.

"My apologies. He's like that since the beginning of the world or even longer." Marik said, trying to joke. "I'm afraid he's such a pain in the ass that even death doesn't want to come and collect him. Mr. Mutou, please rest for a while. Aziza and Fayruz will show you the way and prepare a bath for you." he added calling out two girls, who quickly appeared following Marik's instructions in Arabic, clearly charmed when they realized Sugoroku could speak their own language a bit as well. "Anzu, would you mind helping the women with tonight's feast? Nasira will show you everything." He pointed toward an elder woman, who simply nodded before taking Anzu's hand and led her out to the clay baking ovens nearby. "We will need more water. Rishid, would you go and fetch as much as you can? Take the boys with you."

"Marik, you don't have to…" started Rishid, but Marik sternly interrupted him.

"Don't worry about me." He said, already on his way back to the previous chamber. "I'll see if there's anything else I can do for Bakura. And be sure I'll force my damned grandfather to cooperate with me and read the papyrus. I hope we will sort this thing out before your return."

All boys remained quiet while Rishid led them toward the first tombs they passed on their way up. He picked up some big plastic carboys and handed them to Marik's guests, carrying some himself. Then he guided them to the bottom of the mountain and deep into the narrow valley where they saw some fences built from mud bricks creating something like a stable with the roof made of palm leaves.

Yugi laughed in delight. He always loved animals but back in Domino City it was rare to meet anything bigger than a dog. Rishid chuckled a bit as well. Horses and donkeys obviously charmed the little boy, so he simply opened the fence door and let a male donkey out. Skillfully, he harnessed him to a small cart where he placed all the carboys. Jounouchi and Honda didn't seem to be so trustful of the donkey, but Yugi felt very comfortable walking close beside the animal and speaking to him with a soft smile never leaving his face.

"Well…" started Jounouchi, who couldn't resist the urge to ask questions any longer. Honda gave him a reproachful glare, but Jou's curiosity had won the battle a while ago. "That elder of yours… Why does he hate Marik so much?"

"It's complicated. You see…" Rishid raised his head and for some time he just stared at the sky above, probably trying to decide how to start his story. "You see, Marik never wanted to be the heir. He was too young and the rules were too strict and cruel for a young boy. He made many mistakes back then, he chose the wrong path, and did horrible things trying to find himself. Believe me, he regrets it badly, everyday he worries he'll never be able to fix what he's done. There's no way to erase or alter the past, and no matter how hard he tries, our noble ancestor will never forget how his son died and how his grandson disappointed him. It's all about blame, disgrace, no second chances, and so on… Their relationship was already strained even before all this mess, but you can imagine how much worse it became since Marik decided to tell him about us…"

"You know, it was quite… unexpected for us too." admitted Jounouchi with a grin on his face. "But I'm glad you two are happy together. And here is the funny thing. Last time we saw each other, Shizuka told me she thought you two were in love! Now, thanks to you, guys, I need to go and apologize to her, because back then I laughed at her and I replied that she should stop reading yaoi novels and…"

The rest of their way toward the desert well passed in cheerful chatting. To Yugi's relief, Rishid looked much more relaxed now, knowing they accepted his relationship with Marik. He started to smile more and even joked with Honda and Jounouchi as if his heart wasn't as heavy with worries as it was when they left the village. As soon as they reached the well, Yugi grabbed the first carboy he found and filled it with water which he proceeded to pour straight into the clay drinking-trough that was built nearby. He then brought the donkey there to water him. Slowly all the containers were full of water and Rishid also filled the huge clay jars standing next to the well.

"It's almost a law here." he explained while they were on their way back. "The desert and sun can easily kill, so water is the most valuable treasure for us. Everywhere around the area similar wells are located. When you use the water, you must refill all the jars, because nobody knows when the water in them will be needed and could save somebody's life. And you" he said with a smile, pointing at Yugi this time, "…you were very kind to think of the donkey first, so I bet he won't mind giving you a ride."

Before Yugi could reply, Rishid picked him up and without any great effort placed him on the donkey's back.

"No! I can't! He already has a cart to pull and…" Yugi protested, grabbing the donkey's mane afraid he would fall down. It was Yami who could ride a Yugi it was the very first time on any animal's back and he felt partly scared and partly excited about it.

"You don't have to worry. He might be small, but he has a strong heart and great strength. Also you're so light I am sure he barely feels he has someone on his back, believe me."

When they finally returned back to the tombs, Jounouchi was swearing he was starving and would die if he wouldn't eat something soon. He kept hurrying all of them, and kept complaining as they unloaded the carboys and Yugi said goodbye to the donkey. Jounouchi was the first one to reach the village, sniffing and looking for any kind of food he could get his hands on.

The great feast he found spread on a small, already crowded plateau placed in front of the tomb entrances was as beautiful as a mirage, but quickly – with his mouth already full of pita breads filled with vegetables – he discovered it wasn't a vision. Tears of pure happiness rolled down his cheeks when without waiting for any permission he started wolfing down a roast beef. Sugoroku laughed, while Anzu shouted something, clearly indignant by Jou's bad manners, but her friend seemed to be temporarily deaf, busy with the piles of food in front of him. The smiling villagers encouraged him to treat himself to anything of his liking, so Jounouchi, openly crying in delight, filled his plate with everything he could reach from his seat.

"Please, join us and help yourselves." said Marik, appearing out of nowhere. He looked tired but that didn't stop him from being a perfect host. "They are no extraordinary dishes, I'm afraid, but the women and Anzu tried hard to prepare them the best they could."

Honda didn't need any more encouragement, but Yugi stayed still for some moments just looking at his grandfather, friends, and villagers sitting on the ground around the palm leaves used as plates,,sharing the food. They all were so cheerful and comfortable in this strange bilingual company, with Sugoroku's translations or simple pointing,helping them to understand each other well enough to laugh and eat together.

When Yugi turned around, he saw Rishid placing his arm around Marik's waist, pulling him closer. With a relaxed sigh the young heir closed his eyes and smiled softly, murmuring something quietly to his lover's ear. Rishid chuckled lightly, responded with a few brief words, and leaned down to kiss Marik's waiting lips as if it was the most natural thing to do in the whole world. They looked perfect together, their eyes shining blissfully in warm tenderness. No doubt Shizuka was the smartest one to see they were in love. Yugi thought as he smiled that truly he had never seen two people so much in love even in the middle of such a storm. Briefly he wondered if he would ever feel the same but quickly pushed the thought away.

"I'm so happy for you two." he said with a smile, a warm feeling spreading through his whole body when both Rishid and Marik smiled back at him.

"Better hurry up and eat something. With Jounouchi going at this speed I'm afraid soon you will be left only with empty plates." remarked Marik, but seeing the boy's hesitation he added softly. "Bakura is fine. We'll talk more after the feast. Please, we would be honored to share our meal with you." Yugi nodded and joined his grandfather who was just in the middle of a great story about Seti the Second's reign.

…

Sunset was close and the mountains were casting long shadows everywhere around. Yugi assured himself his grandfather was sleeping peacefully in one of the tombs, well covered with enough blankets to keep him warm and under the watchful eyes of Aziza and Fayruz who sat nearby. After checking on him, he headed to the last entrance, where Marik, Rishid, Anzu, Jounouchi and Honda were already waiting for him. They all passed the first chamber and entered the second one.

The elder gave them a highly unfavorable look. A sudden pang of coldness told Yugi something was wrong, even before Marik's ancestor spoke.

"I forced the papyrus to reveal to me all its secrets. It turned to ashes during the process, but I managed to read it anyway. And my only advice is: better kill him now and give the Lady what she wants, because she won't retreat until she gets him, and her rage is something even we can't stand against."

"What? What are you talking about?" growled Jounouchi before Anzu could stop him. "We came all this way here to bring Ryou's soul back, and now…"

"Your friend is most probably dead. I'm sorry you came all the way here, but since the Lady herself was the one hunting him down, there's not much of a chance that he will still be alive. Not after being kept in the Duat for so long." answered the elder, his voice showing no sympathy or compassion. Yugi felt as if the ground was about to split open and swallow him up. He barely noticed Anzu's supportive embrace, when the oldster continued in the same tone. "Yes, this so-called poor soul of your friend was dragged down to the Shadow Realm and I doubt you'll be able to get him back. Even if the Lady didn't devour him, the process of becoming one with the Shadow Realm has already started."

"No! It can't be!" protested Honda. "And who the Hell is this cursed Lady of yours?"

"It's Ammut." It was Marik who spoke this time. "A monsterous Lady of the Duat. She lives beside the sacred scale and waits for Anubis to weigh each human's heart. If the dead is found guilty having lived their life not in accordance to Maat laws, they are punished by being devoured. Now I understand… From the very beginning it was Bakura who she was hunting for. She made a mistake by capturing Ryou instead, but she recognized it too late, so that's why she came back. She wants to get Bakura this time. No doubt he was no saint in his previous life, but somehow he escaped the Duat thousands of years ago and was able to hide himself from her for a long, long time…"

"No, wait! You mean, a monster, hidden inside an ancient papyrus, actually attacked and caught Ryou instead of Bakura to bring him down into the mythological Realm of the Dead and devour him for his crimes? You do know it makes no sense, right?" asked Anzu, still embracing Yugi, his amethyst eyes filled with unshed tears.

"The Duat is real, and yet it isn't." answered Marik. "Its existence depends on belief, and based on Bakura's origins, the Duat is his only destination after his death. We all know he died once, but somehow he was able to cheat Ammut and get away. Maybe the Millennium Ring gave him a safe shelter for all those years? Maybe he found some other way to avoid the Lady, but she didn't forget him for sure."

"So… there's no way for us to help Ryou? We… We won't bring him back?" asked Yugi quietly, tears rolling down his cheeks. "We won't see him ever again? We will never play games together again? We won't eat lunch at school? We won't be scared to death by his ghost stories? He tells the best ghost stories ever… I… Excuse me…"

Yugi turned around and ran outside. Anzu was about to go after him, but Marik stopped her half way to the passage. He slowly shook his head when the brown haired girl tried to resist.

"Better let him be for now. One good guardian above his head is more than enough for him right now." He said, and Anzu nodded, assuming he was right, definitely having Yami on his mind. She stepped back while Marik turned to his ancestor. The Egyptian's face in one second turned into the mask of the great heir. "And you!" Marik pointed at the elder, his voice strong, steady and full of authority. "You know the way. I almost murdered this boy before. I won't let it happen again."

"No." replied the elder, piercing the young heir with a stare full of hatred, sharp like a sword blade. "It doesn't matter how much I hate you. You're the last one of the bloodline, so I won't allow you to get killed in such a dumb way. Don't ask for something so ridiculous."

"I am not asking. I command you." responded Marik, and continued before Rishid, who recognized the cold flames in his lover's violet eyes, could say a word to restrain him, until the full order was said aloud. "I command you as your leader, a legitimate Tombkeepers' heir. Obey me by doing as ordered. Send me to the Duat."


	7. Chapter 7

_So here we go with the seventh chapter! :) As always I would like to say my greatest thanks to dear littlemichiru who edited this chapter for me and turned it into a real masterpiece :) Thank You!_

 **7\. Admit you're a deadman**

Yami was exhausted. He had kept it a secret that something was wrong with the puzzle, but it was time to finally admit the situation he was facing was too much for him to handle on his own. It was a huge mistake after all not letting anyone else know what was happening to The Millennium Puzzle, but how could he endanger the others? Not to mention, he thought he was the one controlling the maze and therefore he would be able to fix it. How wrong he was. At the beginning, the changes seemed innocent and quite harmless, so he simply tried to understand what was going on without bothering Yugi, who was already distressed by what was happening outside the puzzle. Now, finding no way out and desperately searching for a way to escape, Yami had definitely changed his mind. He needed help. The Millennium Item containing his soul had turned into a kind of crazy kaleidoscope that instead of reflecting visions, somehow had managed to trap him inside, forcing him to live in the twisted landscape and stopping all his attempts to free himself.

He first noticed the changes when they landed in Egypt. New elements started growing here and there in the puzzle, easily adapting to the complicated architecture of his soul maze. Curious Yami observed them watchfully. He was more surprised than terrified by those unexpected rearrangements, especially after he discovered that he was actually able to touch a mastaba appearing out of nowhere, to catch an ibis bird wandering through the corridors, or to feel water pouring from the river located vertically on the wall.

The closer Marik led their group to the royal tombs, the more things would change over and over again in the maze. The blurred visions outside, all those glimpses of the long-forgotten ancient times that Yami experienced when he stayed beside Yugi in the real world, were nothing in compare to what was happening to his soul maze. Sure, he was angry at his partner for not telling him about Bakura's night visit, but since he returned to the Millennium Puzzle, after their brief conversation about Yugi's lack of responsibility and his extremely reckless ideas, he had been unable to escape. Seeing how rapidly things changed in the maze, the spirit decided to let Yugi think he was still angry in order to keep the young boy away from that mess. He didn't want Yugi around, especially when those surrealistic phantasms turned dangerous, swiftly changing forms, dragging the Pharaoh into a madman's dream. There was no rest, no time to breathe, or to collect his mind. He was trapped.

"No..." Yami's voice was weak, his words addressed to nobody in particular.

A second ago, he had been shielding his face from a huge sandstorm hitting from all sides at once, and then there was so sign of a single grain of sand anywhere around as he found himself galloping through the upside-down Egyptian landscape. His horse seemed to be a real animal, but a moment later it turned into a shrieking equine mummy with its old bandages swaying behind it as it galloped, uncovering the dead flesh beneath them.

"Oh, Ra... I pray... I beg you… Don't let Yugi come in here..." He looked at the landscape around him changing, his thoughts drifting to his young protégé.

Terrified, Yami jumped off the horse, just before his mount disappeared,and unexpectedly landed in deep water. Yami opened his eyes, but it was impossible to see anything since the water was dark with mud, quickly filling Yami's mouth and nostrils. Disoriented, he tried to reach the surface, but there was no sense of direction anymore and his whole world seemed to sink into the Nile's high waters. When he was sure he was going to drown, he was suddenly thrown in the middle of the rocky desert, with no shadow to shelter him from the killing sunrays.

"Yugi... Please... Do not enter... the Millennium Puzzle now..." Yami whispered faintly, his throat already dry, his lips cracking and bleeding. "Please... Ra... Anybody... Protect him..." His voice broke more and more with each word.

Yami never dared to name his feelings toward the young boy. He cared for him a lot, but he had never admitted aloud how important and precious Yugi was to him. The ancient Pharaoh was charmed by the gentle creature that was the Millennium Puzzle's holder, but he had never let the other boy know how adorable he thought his smile was. Not to mention his singing voice..Yami thought that when Yugi sang he sounded as if he was part of an angelic choir. During the trip, the spirit had started questioning if those thoughts were as innocent as he thought.

"I'm pathetic... But I was so damn... jealous of Bakura... Oh, how I wish... to hear you... singing just for me..."

Even caught in the intensity of the moment as he was trying to pull his partner away from the dangerous thief, Yami couldn't not be impressed by Yugi's singing voice. The younger boy was full of emotions, his voice often faltering as he tried to sing the simple lullaby, but Yami could understand the boy had a beautiful singing voice. It was like those little bells Yugi loved to jingle during the celebration people called Christmas. He didn't know Yugi could sing. If only he could escape and see Yugi again. If only they were back to their house, he would have Yugi sing just for him.

He didn't know how long he was suffering in the heat – it could have been a minute as well as a whole century when the vision changed again. The Pharaoh lifted his head with great effort, only to notice he was surrounded by crocodiles this time, their eyes set on him and their massive bodies moving closer. He didn't have a chance against them, but for an illusion it was painful as Hell when one of them bit his arm and pulled him underwater again. Before he had time to think what would happen first – would he drown or be eaten alive — the mirage once again was shattered into pieces and suddenly Yami found himself buried underneath a giant pile of dead bodies. He could barely breathe and was unable to move or free himself, his head about to explode from the craziness of the situation.

"Please, Ra... My dear Gods... Just spare him... I won't ask for anything else... All I want... is for him to be safe and sound... Please..."

The spirit closed his eyes, his words coming out weaker and weaker. As a Pharaoh, he was sure he had never needed to beg for anything. Probably his every wish was granted before he'd even ask. Now, he could only beg the Gods for his little partner's sake. How he wished he could hear the boy's voice one more time. The magic trapping him inside didn't allow him to have any communication with the outside world or Yugi's soul-room. He had a general sense that Yugi was alive, but that was all. He really missed the boy, but he didn't want him wandering in this chaos his maze had turned to.

The intense smell of blood and death was overwhelming. The corpses of men, women and children had already started to rot, and even the sun seemed to be dead, its light dim, in that grim landscape. No carrion-eaters showed up, as if they preferred to stay away from the scene no matter how great this feast was to them. It was as if the place was cursed. Everything was filled with deadly silence, covered by a shroud of darkness and sinister shadows.

After trying hard to free himself, Yami managed to reach the top of the pile. His foot caught on a corpse and he went trampling down, dead bodies falling around him. He coughed, turned around and sat up, feeling his body hurting, but immediately he froze on the spot. He noticed a little child nearby crying and curling beside a slaughtered woman – the child seemed to be the last living being in that terrible scenery. The boy had such extraordinary silvery hair...

"Can it be that the scene was a memory rather than another nonsensical vision?," Yami thought, trying to stand up and reach the child.

Could it be... Kul Elna? And this child? Was it possible that...? But before he could touch the little weeping creature, it changed its shape and turned into a black jackal watching him with eyes so old that made Yami think this creature could be older than even the stars on the night sky.

"Anubis? No... It's not your name..." whispered Yami, exhausted, confused and suffering from a bad headache.

An upside-down pyramid rose behind the jackal's back, but the animal paid no attention to it, or the cold, heavy rain which started falling down on them all of the sudden. The piles of dead bodies vanished, exchanged for limestone slabs carved with detailed hieroglyphic signs. Somewhere in the background Yami heard a falcon's cry, but he tried to focus on the jackal, feeling his powers abandoning him as he was already chilled to the bone and his teeth were chattering. His eyes on the jackal, he spotted a strange ribbon around its neck – and that ribbon helped him remember the jackal's true name.

"Please, forgive me. Of course you're not Anubis. Your name is WepWawet, the One Who Opens The Ways."

"That's right, Your Majesty." answered the jackal and came closer, while the rain turned into a thin morning mist floating above the papyrus thickets filling the marshes that surrounding them from all sides now. "I am here to help you, but I couldn't do anything without you calling my true name aloud and activating the power hidden in my name. Can you stand, Your Highness?" Yami nodded in response and slowly lifted himself from the dust-covered mountain plateau which replaced the previous illusion. "Ammut's rage is tremendous this time." said WepWawet, waving his long tail. "Her thirst for revenge destroys anything standing in her way. She was cheated twice, and she definitely won't let her prey do the same a third time, so she furiously walks around and tries to pull anyone who she thinks a suspect into the Duat."

"My partner... Is he alright?" asked Yami, wishing the God would know the answer. Much to Yami's disappointment, the God seemed to ignore his question.

"I am the One Who Opens The Ways. I am the God who doesn't listen to the egoistic prayers of the mortals. I am the Black Jackal of The Gates." WepWawet announced with his voice echoing like a thunder. His black fur started to glow and his eyes turned into two drops of pure light. "I came to help you because you didn't ask for help. I am the one who opens the gates of the dawn and the gates of the twilight. I am the one who opens paths before the pharaohs' armies. I am the one who starts the ceremonies for the livings, I am the one who starts the funerals for the dead. I am WepWawet and with the power hidden in my true name I'm opening the Millennium Puzzle's gates for you. I'm setting you free."

It was like an earthquake. Dark cracks appeared everywhere around as if the whole scenery was a picture painted on glass, ready to crumble into a thousand pieces. Yami looked back at the black jackal sitting peacefully in the middle of the collapsing world.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness." the jackal God said with a softer tone this time, his eyes shining like a warm beam. "Go ahead. Technically your partner is unharmed, but I think he needs you right now."

"Thank you, I..." started Yami, but WepWawet interrupted him.

"Words are unnecessary. My eyes can see the gratefulness in your heart and that's enough. Better hurry up, Your Majesty. Hard times await you, so here I give you my blessing and one piece of advice. I can sense what Ammut is up to, so remember that in the end it's all about you and the sun. Never forget what I just told you. The Pharaoh and the sun.."

He lingered for another second as everything changed in the blink of an eye. One second Yami was in the center of his own soul maze transforming once again after being turned into a twisted mirage, and a second later he was thrown out of the puzzle landing ungracefully at the edge of a hill somewhere high in the mountains. He barely noticed the unfamiliar landscape, as he spotted Yugi sitting there alone with his face hidden in his hands. It didn't matter how they came to be there – wherever there was - his partner was distressed.

"Partner? What happened to you?" he asked with a pang of concern, his heart filling with worry that something horrible had happened while he was trapped inside the Millennium Puzzle. He would never ever forgive himself if his prolonged stay in the puzzle had prevented him from protecting his little host, so he knelt down looking deep into Yugi's amethyst eyes, trying to determine what was wrong. His little partner's eyes were red from crying but he didn't seem hurt. He sighed a sigh of relief as Yugi opened his mouth, not to answer his question, but voice his own concern.

...

"What happened to me? I would like to ask you the same question! You look terrible!" Yugi's words escaped his mouth before he could think twice, clearly terrified by his other self's state and the look of obvious guilt reflected in his crimson eyes.

Yugi knew his own appearance wasn't the best with his clothes covered in dust and his face making it obvious he had been crying; the traces of tears on his cheeks were still there. If the situation was different, he would have felt ashamed being seen like this by the Pharaoh, but now... his appearance was nothing in compare to Yami's wounds and disheveled look. Yugi didn't know a spirit could ever look that way when not inhabiting a body. Yami's lower lip was still bleeding, his outfit was almost torn into pieces and inexplicably soaked, and his hair was a mess, the wet golden bangs framing sloppily his scratched face. But the worst thing was that his eyes were those of a person that had gone through hell. .

"I would rather..." started the spirit, but Yugi interrupted him, not allowing him to find any excuses to postpone the discussion. .

"No. You go first. Oh Ra, what happened to you?" Yugi's voice couldn't be stern even if his life depended on it at that moment since his worry for the young Pharaoh sipped into every cell of his body. Instinctively, he placed his finger on Yami's lips and wiped away the blood. "Yami, please, tell me." The young boy grabbed the spirit's hand, as if he was afraid Yami would once again disappear.

Yami blinked, surprised by Yugi's boldness and sudden need to hold his hand, but also pleased by the touch and concern. Warmth spread through his body giving him strength. He chuckled lightly, at last relaxing a bit. Yugi gave him a puzzled look, surely confused by the instant change of his other self's mood. Yami's chuckle wrapped Yugi like a warm blanket bringing calmness to his tense shoulders. He smiled, never releasing Yami's hand, seeing the fear in those crimson eyes he loved melting away and turning into the well-known warmness he reserved only for him. If he hadn't been so worried about what had happened to the spirit, Yugi for sure would have blushed under that tender stare he knew Yami was giving only to him.

"Okay. I'll tell you" said the Pharaoh with a soft smile, admitting he was defeated. He couldn't keep any secrets from his little partner, especially when he was looking at him with those big eyes of his, full of concern. "As far as I can see, you are fine enough to be stubborn and demanding. But be sure I want to hear your story as soon as mine is finished. I'm afraid I need to catch up to everything that happened to you and the others, because..."

Time passed by and twilight turned into early night by the time they finished telling their stories. In the end, they just sat side to side at the edge of the cliff, their arms touching, staring at the starry sky in silence, lost in their own thoughts. Yugi was amazed by the view. Everything was painted in a light blue light and even the mountains resembled icebergs more than the dusty mountain ranges they were in fact. There was so much to do, so many problems to deal with, so many people to rescue... And yet the whole world seemed to be so peaceful, darkness seemed so welcoming and safe, and the stars seemed to encourage them with their bright white flames burning against the night's black velvety coat. Yugi breathed the dusty air, his arm softly brushing Yami's, but he didn't speak. It was Yami who broke the silence first.

"It's so beautiful up here... I don't remember if I used to watch the sky like that when I was alive, but... Even if I did, no doubt it wouldn't have been half as enjoyable as watching it with you, here, right now…" Yugi turned to look at him, a soft smile on his lips, and the Pharaoh stopped, suddenly understanding what he said. Embarrassed, he looked at the night sky once again. Sure, Yugi's company made the day better, especially since he felt such relief his partner was safe and sound, but why did he have to word it that way? His silence didn't last for more than a few seconds though since he once again turned towards Yugi, his voice more steady and strong. "I mean, I'm not angry anymore, but I still don't like the thought you would meet Bakura without telling me," he stated with obvious antipathy for the thief soaking each of his words. "I don't trust him and I don't want him around you."

The ancient Pharaoh formed his hand into a fist thinking of the white haired thief. He knew Bakura was dangerous, but if he wanted to be honest to himself, Yugi's safety wasn't the only thing that made him say those words.

"How possessive!" Yugi chuckled in response, his voice teasing but his eyes were shining with amusement and something else the spirit couldn't identify.

Yugi thought it felt nice seeing the Millennium Puzzle's spirit so jealous and huffy because of the thief's night visit. He was about to add something more, when he noticed Marik joining them with a crooked smile on his lips that clearly promised some teasing comments about their position and state.

"You know," said the Egyptian with a playful look, "this place is the most romantic one in the area and it's quite great when you want to escape the world and have some privacy; when you want to spend some _alone_ time with someone else. Rishid and I shared our first kiss here. Do you two want to give it a try as well?" he kept teasing, as if watching his friends being embarrassed was one of his newest hobbies. "Oh, be sure I didn't come to interrupt your sweet little talks" he added, seeing Yugi's face turning a shade redder and Yami's eyes narrowing. "I wouldn't have come if there wasn't a serious reason to interrupt you. By now, I'm sure you two have realized that Ammut is searching her prey through the Millennium Items." Both boys nodded. "That's why I need your help, Pharaoh. We were about to bring Bakura back, but he was clever enough to turn the Millennium Ring into a real fortress in the meantime. My elder tried to reach him, but it would be too hard for him to break through all the entrapments Bakura set in order to protect himself and the old man needs to gather all his strength before our next ritual. Would you mind go in to get him? It should be easy for you. According to what Ishizu told me some time ago about the Millennium Items,we can connect them by simple touch. I know you and Bakura aren't the best friends in the world and I'm sorry I must ask you to do something like that, but..."

"No, it's okay. I'll bring him back." replied Yami, but his expression suggested clearly enough that the Millennium Ring was at the bottom of the Pharaoh's list of places he would like to visit.

"Thank you. Please, go ahead. I'd like to call Ishizu since I'm here." Marik pointed at the mobile phone he was carrying. "Believe it or not, here you'll get the best signal in the whole area."

Yugi simply nodded and started walking back towards the village with Yami floating freely beside him. It was then that he realized that he had walked further than he originally thought. Yami's discontented glare told him that the Pharaoh had realized that as well and clearly wasn't very pleased seeing how far in the unfamiliar setting his partner had wandered all alone. Yugi sensed that another talk about responsibility was due, but fortunately they soon saw the first bonfires. Oddly enough, there were far more of them than before, thought Yugi with a strange feeling following his next thoughts. He quickened his pace and shortly both he and Yami faced the plateau being crowded by the villagers who wore black robes, and were shouting, crying, embracing and encouraging each other.

"They're mourning. Somebody died and they're mourning." Said Yami terrified, and Yugi felt his heart freeze with fear. "We should find our friends and ask them about it."

They passed the weeping crowds and reached the tomb that the Ishtar clan had turned into their ritual chambers. Rishid, who was sitting at the entrance, lifted his head and spoke before Yugi could ask a thing.

"It's because of Marik." he murmured, his eyes filled with heartbreaking pain.

"But we just saw him and..."

"Yes, I know. But this night Marik will die and join the dead in the Duat. He wants to negotiate with Ammut and exchange Bakura for Ryou, hoping the great King of Thieves will find his own way to escape like he did before. And hoping he himself will be able to be back with the sunrise, bringing Ryou's soul safely with him."

"No! That can't be the only way!" protested Yugi in disbelief, even though his heart already hurt by the strong impression deep inside which told him that yes, that was the only possible way, and he himself couldn't do anything but watch his friend sacrificing his life in order to save Ryou. "No! I don't want Marik to die! I don't want... I... I..." Yugi couldn't believe he couldn't do something to prevent Marik from going through the ritual that could cost him his life.

Yami, seeing his host so distressed, placed a hand on the younger boy's shoulder trying to calm him down. This trip had turned out to be a real emotional challenge for the kind-hearted boy who was now faced with the possibility of losing one more friend to the Duat.

"Believe me, I am the first person who wouldn't want to see him dead..." whispered Rishid, his voice breaking with each word he uttered. "But I also know he's your only chance. No one but him is educated well enough to pass unharmed through the Duat." He pointed at the paintings and inscriptions covering the walls, ceiling, and floor of the chamber they were in. "He knows every single sign, every name, every spell in here. He's the only one able to reach the Hall of the Two Maats and meet Ammut who will be waiting there. All we can do is to sit vigilantly here all night and pray to Ra to bring both him and Ryou back with the first rays of the sunrise. Please, would you join us?" asked the Egyptian with such overwhelming pain apparent in his voice, his tone so low and quiet it was hard for Yami and Yugi to hear his last words.

"I'm back." announced Marik with a seemingly carefreeness in his pose, voice and words when he showed up at the entrance of the tomb that one wouldn't suspect he was about to give his life in order to enter the Duat and save his friend. "I said my farewell to Ishizu, just in case. She was obviously far from happy hearing what I'm up to, but she promised to pray to the Gods for my safe return. I assume the elder is ready so we can start as soon as Bakura will be among us again. Please, don't look at me like that, Rishid." he whispered, a slight tremor appearing in his voice before he smiled softly, reaching for his lover's arms. "I know he's no saint, but I owe Bakura so much. I owe him the life of the man I love more than anything in this world. He faced my yami, the darkness dwelling in my heart, and even if he had done it for his own purposes, he still managed to restrain me from killing both his host and you, Rishid. I want to pay my debt. I need to."

If there were any other reason Marik wanted to add, any other words to use to persuade his boyfriend, they remained nothing but intentions when Rishid grabbed Marik and hugged him as strong as he could, as if he preferred breaking his beloved's ribs rather than letting him go. The young heir simply chuckled in response to such a desperate embrace, but pulled his lover even closer. Yugi felt as if his heart was about to be broken once again. It was clear that Marik and Rishid were saying their goodbyes to each other so he decided to retreat and give them some time together. There was a great possibility those were the last minutes they would share while both being alive.

In the second chamber, he met Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda already dressed in black as all the weeping villagers outside. One glance at their friend's faces was more than enough for them all to know they didn't need to explain anything to him. Everything was crystal clear to Yugi, even if they were far from being acceptable. Yugi kneeled beside an unconscious Bakura. Somehow even the thief seemed tensed, as if even from deep inside his forced captivity, he knew what was happening out there.

"Are you ready?" asked Yugi quietly, and laid the Millennium Puzzle by the Millennium Ring as soon as the Pharaoh nodded to him. Yugi let out a breath he was holding and prayed to Ra that Bakura would follow Yami without a fight. Deep inside him, a voice told him he was being way too hopeful, but all of them had been through enough for a day and he wanted Yami to return to him safe and sound.

...

Yami had heard that Bakura's soul maze had been destroyed, but truly he wasn't prepare for the sight in front of him. The thief had carelessly mentioned something about damages, true, but now the Pharaoh was facing something far worse. He felt like the sole survivor wandering in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The whole labyrinth was in ruins and everything around seemed dangerously close to crumbling into pieces very soon. The Pharaoh carefully walked through the corridors, disturbed by the mental injuries that the soul maze gained during Ammut's attack.

Originally Yami thought finding Bakura would be a simple task – he simply needed to go down, call Bakura out and be back. Now, wandering through all those shattered pathways, he watched in disbelief the terrible and destructive results of the Duat Lady's power. Poor Ryou, thought Yami. It wasn't hard for him to imagine the scared boy's soul being chased through the collapsing corridors, cornered in his own soul-room, brutally caught and dragged into the Shadow Realm against his will. Once again, he thanked the Gods for not allowing Yugi to be caught to the twisted visions he faced only hours ago.

Not sure if it would be the best idea to raise his voice, Yami had chosen to remain silent and find Bakura without calling out for him. Obviously the Egyptian-styled soul-room with the familiar eye carved on the entrance door was the first place to check, but surprisingly Yami found the place empty. It was oddly unharmed, in a much better condition than any other part of the soul maze. How could Ammut have missed such an obvious location? Confused, the Pharaoh kept on searching for Bakura, and soon his gentleness and patience were rewarded.

His first impression after seeing Ryou's soul-room was pure terror. No doubt this was the place where Ammut finally found the boy and attacked her prey with great violence. The bloody marks splattered all over the soul-room didn't surprise the Pharaoh since he had experienced such brutality himself and no matter how crazy it sounded, the Duat Lady was able to make a soul bleed. He shivered imagining Ryou slaughtered in there for crimes he didn't commit and punished for everything that Bakura had done in his life and long after his death as well.

"I can see that bitch visited you in the Millennium Puzzle. Were you a good host for her?" scoffed the King of Thieves. He was sitting in the middle of Ryou's soul-room, busy with some small pieces of something clearly broken, being in such a bad state that it was too hard for Yami to recognize what its original shape used to be. "I'm afraid it's too late for me to advise you to fortify your Millennium Item the way I did with mine. My bad I didn't warn you about her abilities." he added with a sinister smile obviously showing how much he appreciated the Pharaoh's wounds.

"Let's go." growled Yami already annoyed by the thief's insolent behavior. That was all he needed, to be reminded why he hated him so much. "We must..."

"I know. I'm not deaf, I've already heard everything." snorted Bakura, not intending to move, seemingly more interested in the pieces in his hands than in following Yami. "But they all got the facts wrong. Ryou wasn't taken from me accidentally. He fooled Ammut for my sake and let himself be captured instead of me."

"What? What the Hell are you talking about?" barked Yami, stepping closer, now truly angry by the thief's resistance and ready to use force to drag him back into reality. It wasn't the perfect scenario, but the Pharaoh's patience was about to evaporate sooner than later. "Stop babbling and..."

"How stupid you all are!" Bakura laughed like a madman, his eyes flashing dangerously. Yami stopped, waiting for the insane thief's next move, convinced that something was clearly wrong with his head. "How much you underestimate my host! You band of naive fools! My Ryou… he was so smart,none of you have even realized how his plan worked. My wise Ryou, who predicted all this mess and prepared both himself and me for this." There was such passion and possessiveness in his voice, and yet whenever he said Ryou's name, his tone was almost gentle.

"Are you crazy?" Yami remained skeptical, simply watching Bakura with his arms crossed in front of his chest, but the thief seemed to be quite sure about everything he had said. Yami would have simply dragged Bakura, if he hadn't heard that gentles in the thief's voice.

Yugi, during his explanation of the thief's night visit, had mentioned that there was more to Bakura than what meets the eye. The way Yugi described the thief and his need to have his host back kept him from using violence against the spirit of the Millennium Ring. Still, he wasn't ready to admit Bakura wanted more than the return of his possession.

"Ryou belongs to me and me alone." Bakura announced possessively with almost a thrilling seriousness in his low voice. "I won't let anybody and anything else to have him. Ammut will regret she set her paws on him, oh, she'll regret it for sure... And lucky you! You'll have the chance to watch my revenge with your own eyes!" He laughed again, obviously happy with Yami's confusion. "In other words: I, the mighty King of Thieves, invite you, the pathetic, nameless Pharaoh, to join me on my charming journey to the Duat."

"And what makes you think I would do that?" asked Yami, already tired by Bakura's alarming changes of mood. "Why should I follow you there?" The thief must have been crazy for sure if he thought he would abandon his host to join him to such a precarious journey.

"Let's talk openly like one nice deadman to another. We're both dead, so we can both safely go to the Duat without risking our life like our poor fellow Marik has to do. Also, hasn't your little silly head ever thought of how I was able to plan this trip so quickly? Any thoughts about how I did it? Too complicated for you?" Bakura chuckled, seeing how Yami's patience was about to run out. "I blackmailed the infamous Kaiba by stealing Mokuba's soul. But kidnapping his cute little brother and stealing his sweet, precious soul wasn't just my way to force our proud dragon keeper to obey me. It will also turn you into a meek sheep guided by me." He smiled like a beast who was finally able to corner its pray, and for the first time Yami felt as if he was facing the personification of true evilness. "Yes, I planned that as soon as I realized that Egypt was my only chance to get back my host. You should better take care of me and my needs during our lovely trip and serve me well, otherwise Mokuba will forever stay the senseless doll he's right now. Nobody but me knows where I keep his soul. He's the warrant of your allegiance and judging by the level of hatred I see in those pretty crimson eyes I can say you already understood your role."

Once upon a time, Yami wouldn't care about Mokuba's soul, but the Pharaoh was no longer a vindictive spirit guided by the shadows. His attachment to his host, little Yugi, had changed him. The Thief King knew way too well that the Pharaoh wouldn't risk upsetting his little partner by risking Mokuba's soul.

"Did you finish your pompous speeches at last? Listening to your babbling gave me nothing but a headache." growled Yami. "I'll do anything to save Ryou, secure Marik's safety, and bring Mokuba back to life, but be sure you'll pay for all you have done. Remember my words, because I mean each one of them."

"Act as noble, proud, and offended as you wish, but never forget your place." Replied Bakura and laughed as if the Pharaoh's anger was the most enjoyable thing in the entire world.

Still laughing, he slowly stood up and moved ahead. When he passed Yami, the Pharaoh spotted a small Egyptian-fashioned cat figurine in the thief's hand. "Did he spend all this time in here repairing this little broken memory?" Yami wondered as he slowly followed the thief, watching as Bakura placed the figurine in his pocket with great care.

"Come on, move your lazy royal ass. I wasted enough of my precious time with you in here." The King of Thieves smiled in that ominous way of his that Yami always disliked, but before the Pharaoh could say a word, the Millennium Ring hanging around Bakura's neck exploded with a blast of light. It was obvious that Bakura had started putting down all the security measurements he had taken in order to open the way out for them. It was so bright Yami could barely see a thing. He shielded his hurting eyes with his arm. He felt Bakura's hand pulling him, and his voice, clear and sharp like a knife, stabbing the Pharaoh's mind mercilessly.

"It's definitely time to go. I have one missing host to reclaim, one damned realm to conquer, and one bitchy goddess to butcher with my own hands."


	8. Chapter 8

_As always I'd like to thank my great supporter Mia for taking care of this chapter, editing it and giving me power to write more! Thank You, dear! You're the best! And also once again let me say it: Happy birthday for You! :)_

 **8\. Admit there's nothing but evilness within you**

The Ishtar elder looked as if there were a million places he would prefer to be in rather than the ritual chamber itself. It was quite obvious as well that he would prefer being eaten alive by a pack of starving wild dogs to obeying Marik's orders. It was painfully humiliating for him to serve such an undignified, unworthy heir especially since there was nobody but that miserable sister of his, Ishizu, to replace him in case of failure. Marik was nothing more than a source of endless disappointment; he was the worst candidate to inherit the clan. It was inexcusable that his son's wife gave her life to give birth to such a sinful monster, her sacrifice obviously wasted.

Even now, this wretched boy couldn't act as the noble heir he was supposed to be – shamelessly embracing his adoptive brother in a highly obscene way, and speaking with the strange foreigners he had dared to bring to his own nesta. He had even allowed that half-dead evil creature to contaminate the Ishtars sacred chambers. How could they all be so blind as not to see that heavy black aura surrounding the white-haired boy like a deadly shroud?

He himself had felt it deep in his bones as soon as Rishid had carried this cursed being in – half-alive and barely breathing back then, but as soon as he had been brought back again from the depths of the Millennium Ring, the impression had been way much stronger. Even if Bakura seemingly kept quiet and sat patiently in a corner, the elder saw nothing less than a lurking beast waiting for the perfect moment to attack. His nature was that of evilness, it was circulating through his veins, filling his mind, darkening his eyes. It would be for the best of them all to let Ammut devour him!

The Ishtar ancestor was impatient, anxious, and wanted nothing more than to have his peaceful days back – when no strangers spoke their foreign languages, no personified evilnesses lurked around, and Marik was nowhere within a radius of several kilometers of that place since his grandson was usually too busy with his so-called important businesses somewhere in Luxor, Cairo, or Aswan to visit the village often or to stay longer than two-three days at a time. The elder's dark eyes in his tawny, crinkly face burned with the bright flame of hatred as he was staring at the last preparations and final goodbyes, clearly irritated by them.

"Enough! Move on!" He spoke harshly with no sign of mercy in his voice. "Nobody will ever be fully prepared to die, so you won't be an exception in this matter. Hurry up, it's already been three hours after the sunset."

Marik didn't reply but simply kissed Rishid one last time before taking his place in the center of some complicated seals drawn on the floor. There was no need to tell Bakura what to do. The King of Thieves just smirked in a way nobody would say was pleasurable to see, and stepped into the red colored circle the elder pointed him towards.

"Now, kneel, and bow your heads before death. Both of you." added the oldster, acidly, seeing Bakura wasn't even about to show any respect at the threshold of death.

Damnation! He should have killed him before anybody could restrain him! Deep inside, the elder felt nothing but concern about the possibility that this creature would escape the Duat and be allowed to return to the lands of the living. Bakura was evidently up to something as evil as he himself truly was. He didn't look like a person that would die within seconds – he was way too lively and self-confident. The Ishtar ancestor couldn't fully decipher him. One of the thief's dark glare was enough for the elder to feel a cold shiver running down his spine. The coldness that he felt made him imagine being outside on a particularly freezing winter night.

"I should have killed you", he thought, but there was already an unpleasant, silent reply reflected deep inside Bakura's eyes that spoke clearer than words. It was as if the thief knew exactly what he thought. "You wouldn't dare to touch me again. You may act as a noble, wise, powerful man and all these idiots may believe you, but we both know you're nothing but a weak, filthy coward, terrified by the thought that I belong to the same place you will one day find yourself in. You're terrified by the thought of finding out how Ammut treats criminals like you and I." How could it be possible for him to know what he was thinking?

"Don't compare me to you, you damned...!" thought the elder, but Bakura's mental laugh interrupted him, and then the white haired demon spoke directly in the ancestor's head: "Now, now... I can see all your sins, all the crimes you committed in the past, all the blood which has soaked your clothes and mind. Our cute little Marik would be surprised to know what a deceitful hypocrite his grandfather is! Be sure, you old cheater, that there's nothing but Ammut's jaws waiting for you in the Duat."

"How... How did you?..." thought the elder, now almost trembling and finding it hard not to let anyone else notice the mental dialogue. That bastard! What had he done to him?

"You see," explained Bakura carelessly in the meantime, "I'm a pretty skillful lad, but unfortunately very unforgiving and vengeful as well. This ability is called 'parasite mind'. I implanted a part of my soul within you when you hastily dared to lay your filthy hands on me. Normally I do this with objects rather than human beings, but your case has shown me how talented indeed I am! Better obey me, otherwise I might get bored of such an unruly doll and decide to break it, immediately. Or maybe I will force it to throw itself beyond the edge of the plateau. Or..."

"Okay, enough. I... I see your point..." admitted the ancestor, feeling his hand already moving against his will. The fingers touched his neck in quite a simple warning, as if Bakura demonstrated to him how easily he would suffocate him using his own hands only.

"I'm glad to find you so willing to cooperate!" sneered the evil spirit in response. "Good, now I'll tell you what I want you to do..."

...

Yugi was uneasy seeing the preparations. He felt terribly useless, but no matter how long he thought about it, he couldn't find a single way to be more helpful. It was more than heart-breaking seeing Marik's and Rishid's farewells, it was more than terrifying to know that there was a huge possibility Bakura wouldn't return. He shivered under the black robe Anzu had given him some minutes ago.

The night seemed to be darker than it was supposed to be. It was as if all the evil shadows were gathering around, waiting for something truly horrifying to happen, Yugi thought with another shiver. The moon had a strange, thrilling colour of decaying flesh, its light dim, casting deep, unnatural shadows. Yugi barely saw any stars on the sky, as if their glittery glare died that night leaving them all surrounded by darkness and hopelessness. Dawn seemed to be nothing but a distant, legendary promise in the black, malevolent world. Even Yami looked as if his mind was consumed again by grim, unpleasant thoughts and visions.

"Are you okay?" Yugi asked gently through their mind link, worried about his partner's sanity. The idea of losing Yami to another wave of insanity terrified him.

"Huh? Yes, I'm pretty fine. Don't worry about me." replied Yami, nodding to him with a smile.

It was a relief to see that the Pharaoh wasn't completely lost in his visions and that it was easier to bring his attention back to reality, but still there was something in his eyes... Yugi couldn't decipher that specific look, his eyes barely catching this unfamiliar darkness in his other self's crimson irises. But soon he couldn't focus on that anymore, since the elder's deep enchanting signalized that the ritual had already begun. Yugi clasped his hands with Anzu and Jonouchi's who sat beside him and tried hard to think positive, to pray, to beg for Marik's successful return.

The first one to fall down was Bakura. He grinned as if he was about to take a brief, nice nap rather than die, but a second later the light in his dark eyes faded. The elder's enchanting got louder and Yugi shivered seeing Bakura's lifeless body. Even if he knew that their plan was supposed to work this way, it was incredibly painful to watch the thief dying. No breath, no pulse, no heartbeat… Yugi felt as if his own heart was also being pierced, when Marik sighed lightly and slowly he slid into death's welcoming arms too.

Hearing Rishid's cry was nothing but a pure torture. It was so hard for Yugi to admit there was no other way. Oh, how badly he wanted to do something, to be helpful, to find another solution which wouldn't endanger anybody else. Those two dead bodies were too much for him to hold back his own tears any longer. But that was his last coherent thought because then a terrible pain paralyzed him all of sudden. Yugi felt as if his soul was about to be teared into pieces, his mind crushed, his heart ready to explode, his memories to be shattered and lost.

"Yami! Yami!" He called through the mental link, but there was no response.

He thought of his other self desperately. Was he safe? Did he suffer? Did he know what was happening to them? Every second the pain was getting stronger, overwhelming, overpowering – taking his breath away, stopping his heartbeat, shutting down his mind.

"Yami! Oh, Yami!..."

And that was his last thought before everything went black.

…

Marik coughed hard. His lungs were on fire, his head was spinning, his heart beat furiously under his sore ribs, and his vision blurred into one nonsensical collage. He was clueless of how long he'd stayed dead, but his whole body craved air. His eyes slowly were adjusting to the darkness filling the chamber, but very soon he felt familiar arms around him, shifting him and helping him up but most of all – hugging him in a desperate, strong embrace.

"The Duat… The Duat rejected me… The Gods told me… it's not my time yet…" He whispered, and lifted his hand to touch his beloved's cheek. "Oh, Rishid… Such a big boy shouldn't cry." He murmured playfully, trying to sit down since he still felt dizzy.

It was a relief to be back, to have Rishid by his side, to feel his blood running through his veins again, but most of all he wanted his weak smile to cover the guilt he felt. He knew he had failed. He had lost Bakura. He wasn't able to rescue Ryou or to help the thief escape the Duat. And he had no idea what to do next.

"Marik! Marik!" It was Anzu calling out his name in that specific, terrible way that made Marik understand that his unexpected coming back wasn't the only thing that had gone wrong.

"What the…?" He started, but then froze in fear, when Rishid stepped back and let him see the whole chamber. "No, no, no… Don't tell me…"

"He's not breathing!" exclaimed Anzu in tears, while Honda was trying hard to wake Yugi up. "He just fell down like you two did, but… But…" Jonouchi took her in his arms, obviously shaken and terrified too.

"Oh no… No… This shouldn't have happened! I don't understand… I…" started Marik, making his way to Yugi. "Oh gods, please…" he whispered, but the little boy was dead for real.

It was as if a thunder hit him. Marik's hand shook as he gently touched his friend's neck, but he felt no pulse. Violet eyes, half-open, were watching things that couldn't be seen by anybody who had a beating heart. No… Oh, no…

"Don't call out the gods' names. They have nothing to do with this." Snapped the elder, avoiding Marik's angry glare. "I have told you all before! I have warned you! If only you would listen to me!" He growled as if he preferred to blame everybody around to admitting he was at fault.

"What have you done?" snarled Marik, when the true meaning of his grandfather's words came to him.

Rishid tried to catch him, but his lover seemed to have gained some extra power and extra battle reflexes in the meantime sparkled by his anger. He dashed through the chamber, knocked out his grandfather and pressed him against the ground so hard as if he didn't mind breaking a rib or two in the process. His fury was undisputed and Rishid needed Honda and Jonouchi's help to pull them apart before some of Marik's deadly wishes would come true.

"It's not me!" The elder objected roughly, brushing the dust off his robes. "This evil creature should have been killed just like I've told you! It forced me to send the Pharaoh's soul with him to the Duat, and it was too late when I realized that the little boy wouldn't let them be separated, so they both went to the afterlife. This damned evil being would have killed me if I hadn't obeyed!"

"So you decided to take Yugi's life in order to protect yourself?" Marik's voice dangerously trembled on the edges like a promise of pain and suffering. "You old coward! I thought you were a noble man, somebody I should imitate if I wanted to be a worthy heir, but now I realize… I…" His voice broke and Marik bit his lip hard not to let himself cry tears of anger and disappointment.

He was supposed to be a leader! He had to gather himself and think of what he could do now to help his friends. A pair of familiar arms embraced him once more; arms that were warm and encouraging. Rishid was by his side, obviously feeling guilty that all he could offer was just his presence and no piece of advice.

"Put the little boy's body into the circle." Said the elder quietly. "Then sit down in a circle and pray to the gods until dawn comes." It was then that Marik turned his head and realized that his grandfather's hands were already connected in a prayer's stand.

…

Yugi was aware of every single bone in his entire body. He had no idea what had happened to him before everything went black and silent, when the ritual's enchanting echo faded away. He could hear somebody calling out his name – many voices kept repeating "Yugi" all over again, but soon they faded too, leaving only one voice. This special one. Dear. Beloved. It was hard and a little painful too to focus on that voice, with his head spinning and his body aching, but he succeeded and finally opened his eyes to see Yami's worried face leaning close to him from above.

The view was so familiar, and yet so different this time. Yami's skin had a wonderful caramel shade and his crimson eyes were framed with black lines in the typical Egyptian manner. Furthermore, he was dressed in a white robe with a violet cloak. Yugi spotted also a pair of heavy golden earrings carved with the sacred ankh sign, a wide usekh collar around his neck, a diadem with an eye on his forehead, and many bracelets on his wrists and arms. He looked worried, his eyes full of concern, but he looked so noble as if his Egyptian royal blood gleamed deep inside his veins and brighten him up with a warm, golden aura that for a while Yugi could do nothing but stare at him.

"You are so… beautiful…" Yugi was so stunned that it took Yami's blink and his crooked smile to let him know that unwittingly he had said that aloud.

Yugi's face turned pink in the speed of light and he doubted he had ever felt so embarrassed in his whole life. Seeing that, Yami chuckled lightly with a playful flash in his eyes – obviously divided between relief and amusement caused by his partner's unaware compliment.

"My, my… You must feel better than I thought if you can focus on my comeliness in such a situation." he replied provocatively, watching how Yugi's cheeks turned into a darker shade of pink. Deep inside the Pharaoh had to admit that he enjoyed being the cause of Yugi's blush a little bit too much.

"What…? What happened?" asked Yugi, avoiding Yami's eyes and desperately looking for a change of topic.

He tried to sit up and concentrate on something else than this wonderful Egyptian version of Yami that had already filled up his whole mind with its splendid presence and made him feel like the dumbest fool on Earth, but all of the sudden he felt so dizzy… For some terrible seconds the world around him became a maze of colours with no shapes or outlines. He would have fallen back to the sand if the pharaoh hadn't supported him with his arm. Yugi froze on the spot, unable to speak or even breathe.

He. Could. Feel. Him.

His heart beat so hard he was sure that Yami could hear that crazy drumming too. Oh, gods! He could feel Yami's solid body right beside him. The Pharaoh wasn't a ghost anymore – his scent, his warm breath, his shining eyes, his embrace, his lips whispering Yugi's name and asking if everything was okay… They all were so real… Yugi sighed as the world whirled once again, and his head started aching more. He didn't know how reality had been twisted into such a crazy way, or where they were or what exactly had happened since he had fainted. He was really confused and completely speechless, when another person came into his view and the situation became even more complicated.

"Welcome to the Duat, you poor little thing."

Yugi gasped. He knew this was Bakura, but somehow he wasn't sure if the man standing in front of him and Yami was the same thief he had known. This new Bakura seemed a bit older, with messy white hair shorter than Ryou's and the same tawny skin as Yami's. He was dressed in the Egyptian-style with a white skirt and a long, red coat. His face was marred by a terrifying scar, marking his whole right cheek from his eyebrow to his chin. Yugi couldn't help his nervous shiver, seeing this rough silhouette with an unknown wilderness glistening deep in its darkened eyes.

In Bakura's ancient version there was no trace of Ryou's gentleness or softness. He was composed out of sharp edges, his eyes reflecting carelessness for danger, aggression and readiness to fight, as if he wouldn't hesitate to challenge the entire universe to a duel. It was hard, but Yugi had to admit that this new Bakura was a frightening stranger, dangerously unknown and insane. He saw it in his eyes, and instantly he felt as if the blood in his veins was turning into ice.

Maybe that was the horrifying evilness that Marik's elder kept talking about anytime he was referring to Bakura. Maybe the oldster could see the thief's true face from the very first sight. Maybe Ryou's body couldn't fool his senses. Maybe… Maybe all of them were wrong? But surely, they couldn't be so wrong. Ryou couldn't have been so wrong.

"Step back." growled Yami unexpectedly, standing up and placing his body between Yugi and Bakura. "You scare him."

"I am afraid I am the least fearful creature in this damned land, and it is not me who your cute little one should be scared of the most." answered Bakura with a smile which made Yugi think of a beast's bared fangs.

"Don't you even dare to touch him, or…"

"Now, now… Spare your words." Bakura just laughed in response. He clearly didn't take them seriously and wasn't about to do so anytime soon. "We have no time to argue, since Sun is a few hours ahead and we need to catch up with Him before dawn. I think only our poor sweet Yugi deserves some explanations." he added with a sinister smile. "As I said, we're in the Duat. I was supposed to make this lovely journey with the Nameless Pharaoh's company only, but in the critical moment you didn't let him go alone, so that's why you ended up trapped in here with us. That was a brave deed, but pretty unfortunate. I am afraid your great courage and even greater sympathy for your other self will lead you to the grave" Bakura proceeded, paying no attention to Yami's murderous glare. "The Duat didn't reject you in the way it did with Marik, but soon you'll regret that more than anything you have ever regretted in your life. This realm hates living creatures and tries to stop any heart beating, any lungs breathing, any blood circulating through one's veins. Probably you can already feel it – your power and energy slowly draining away, your life being taken piece by piece... until…"

"Enough!" Yami snapped at Bakura fiercely, this time ready to attack if the thief wouldn't obey. "And stay the hell away from him."

"As you wish, Your Majesty" sneered Bakura, giving Yugi one last, long glare. "Feel free to take care of him. But be sure you won't defeat the Duat the way I did before. Not you. Never." he smiled again in that terrible, ominous way, and then he started speaking to nobody in particular. "When you reach this place, first of all you must notice that the whole Duat is kind of a game. Pretty fatal, but still – just a game. Then, you need to get to know all the rules. And then…" He smiled wider with his eyes beaming dangerously. "Then you have to learn how to cheat…"

Yugi was shaken. He felt so weak, and he couldn't gather his strength; his mind was a blur and he couldn't focus. It was worse than any ghost story told by Ryou, with even that feeling like years ago, stories being told in some other world, in some other life… Yugi was completely confused and scared.

In the meantime, Bakura took a card deck out of his coat. He had chosen a card, a simple Duel Monsters card, and with a brief Egyptian word that he shouted angrily, he threw it in front of him. But the card never reached the sandy ground. It started to glow and transform and soon there was a great Egyptian chariot standing before them, with two mummified horses harnessed to it. Both animals were wrapped into old, dirty bandages, snorting and shaking their heads impatiently. They looked as if they were taken out of a nightmare, with their empty eye sockets and their bare bones visible here or there between the bandage rolls. Bakura laughed wildly seeing Yugi's terrified look.

"This is Ryou's Cursed Chariot card. I bet you saw this one, Yugi, when you were checking out your decks at school." he said, patting one of the horse's neck. "Ryou was always fascinated by the extraordinary cards connected to the afterlife, dark magic, and paranormal activities. He was really charmed by the Cursed Chariot and loved its horses so much he even gave them names I cannot recall now. Also, this card works properly only when you use another one to tame its power." he added, throwing another card. Immediately two glowing, magical circles surrounded the animals' necks. "You need to bind the horses with an ancient spell, otherwise they will run towards two opposite directions and the chariot will be destroyed."

Yami hesitated, but Yugi slowly stood up and, supported by his other self's arm, he came closer to the Cursed Chariot. Bakura was already on it, holding the reins and waiting for them to join him, but saying no more.

"The Duat is… a game?" asked Yugi quietly. "And Ryou knew that. He gave you this deck prepared especially for this trip. How?"

"What a smart creature!" Bakura gave him a look of approval, but his smile stayed crooked and mocking. "It all started with Pegasus. He had the Millennium Eye, so he could watch the livings' world as well as the Duat. He based his whole Duel Monsters card game strictly on the Shadow Realm's rules, and Ryou realized that before you even thought about that possibility." For a second Yugi heard a soft tone in his voice, but soon the impression was gone, when Bakura said: "Come on, I have no time to waste now. Believe me, you don't want me to force you to cooperate with me. Better do that out of your own will."

"Are you okay?" asked Yami quietly, leaning close to Yugi's ear, but never getting his eyes off from Bakura, clearly alert and ready to defend his partner at any time.

For sure the pharaoh didn't trust Bakura – the thief didn't give them a single reason to do so, but deep inside Yugi felt a strange wave of calmness and certainty about him. Bakura was a simple creature – all he wanted was to have Ryou back. He knew the best how the Duat worked on living beings, but he refused to believe that his host could be dead. He had captured Yami because he couldn't ask for help. And he was desperate enough to lead this suicidal mission and fight with Ammut, with only one goal in mind, to reach Ryou or die trying.

"Yes, I am okay. Don't worry." The little boy smiled softly and clasped Yami's hand, encouraging both of them this way. He jumped on the chariot, happy to see the pharaoh joining him even if it was with a rather unhappy, distrustful face. "Let's save Ryou." he said and Bakura made his mummified horses run ahead, to the distant glow on the horizon.


End file.
